A Different Kind of Courage
by Pengping
Summary: Pre-Tilaria. The Loki you know is a smooth talking mage, a one man army. As a child he has none of his later confidence and is only aware of how little Odin likes him. When Loki saves Thor and drowns, he discovers a new courage that only grows when Marauders take him hostage and he uses the Tesseract. But because of that, the Chitauri find him, and they are intrigued by his power.
1. Race You!

**Chapter 1: Race You!**

"Brother! Slow down!" Loki whined as he ducked under a branch.

Thor stopped his stride and turned to face his brother. It was a cold winter day and Loki and Thor were out in the forest. To one side, the path fell away down to a lake now covered in ice. They were about ten by human time, too young to be out there alone. Rules had never stopped Thor before.

Thor looked at his brother worriedly. "What are you doing out here brother?"

Loki's look was pleading. "You are supposed to be in the palace, not out here."

"No fun being stuck in the palace." Thor smiled and spread his arms, turning in a circle. "It is the first freeze of the season!"

Loki bit his lip, unconvinced. He hated breaking the rules, it would just make Odin scowl at him even more. "We, we're going to get in trouble with father," he whined again, his old stutter still present.

Thor shook his head. He loved his little brother but Loki needed to relax. It was all right to break the rules on occasion. After all, what could possibly happen?

"Do you even know where you're going?" Loki asked.

Thor shrugged, "just walking."

Loki scuffed his foot, looking down.

Thor paused and looked around. "Race you brother," he challenged.

That made Loki look up. "Where?" He loved racing.

"Over there to the break in the path," Thor pointed down the path to where it did indeed break as it went around an oak, about three hundred meters away.

Loki nodded, wishing again he was more like Thor that was quick thinking. Thor was tall and strong, muscular, and a natural with a sword. He was all the things an Asgardian should be and all the things that Loki, with his small and lean frame, wasn't. Loki wasn't as strong as Thor and hated fighting with swords – he didn't mind fighting, he just didn't get the same thrill out of it that Thor did.

One thing Loki could do better than Thor was run. Despite being younger and smaller than Thor and the older children, he won almost every time.

Thor picked the starting line, a fallen branch, and glanced at Loki, "ready?"

Loki nodded.

"Go!"

When Loki ran it felt like he was flying and he could run for hours without getting tired. A few hundred meters was easy. He pulled ahead of Thor, sharp eyes spotting that the path was iced over ahead. His balance was much better than Thor whether it was on rooftops, tree branches, or ice. Especially ice, he was a natural on it. As soon as he stepped on the ice he stopped running, staying still, letting his momentum carry him at the cost of speed.

Thor didn't do that, he tried to take another step. Later, Loki would wonder if Thor had even seen the ice. Of course, Thor's feet slipped out from under him. He crashed, his poor footing and momentum causing him to tumble down the hill, out of Loki's sight.

"Thor!" Loki called, but didn't move until he cleared the ice. As soon as he reached a less slippery surface, Loki ran over to the edge and started down.

Thor had tumbled down the hill and slid out onto ice. He lay there for a moment, stunned, ears ringing. "I'm fine!" He called after a moment sitting up. Carefully, he pulled his feet under him and stood, arms extended as he tried to keep a shaky balance.

He heard an odd popping sound and a noise like cracking. Slowly, he looked down. He was in the middle of the ice covered lake. This was the first freeze of winter. The ice would not be thick. As if hearing Thor's thoughts, the ice popped again, groaning under his weight. He looked up to where Loki was just about to step on the ice. "Brother stop!"

Loki hesitated, seeing the problem. "Do-don't move Thor."

"Don't worry," Thor tried to laugh lightly but it came out hollow. He took a step experimentally and the ice shifted loudly, almost cracking. He gulped, heartbeat and breathing increasing, scared. As far as Loki was concerned, Thor never got scared. Thor was the perfect warrior and Loki had been told often enough by his father that he knew how sad of an Æsir he was in comparison. But now, Loki could see that Thor _was scared_.

"Brother?" Thor asked. I do not suppose you know a good charm?" He failed rather miserably at keeping his voice light.

Loki didn't know any charms other than how to send out a senseline – radar for mages essentially. Frigga was always saying that he should work on his magic more. Now Loki regretted his decision to force himself to work on swords instead. A charm would come in handy. He shook his head helplessly.

Thor chewed his lip, fear reflecting in his sapphire eyes. The ice groaned again.

"Try-try to walk to-towards me Thor," Loki waved Thor on, "slowly."

Thor shook his sharply and did not move. The ice would break if he moved.

Loki had no idea what to do. He had always followed Thor's lead, always tried to make himself into the warrior that Odin expected. Never did he cause trouble or break the rules. Taking command was just not something Loki did. It seemed like he had to now. His perfect older brother was too scared to move.

How do I do this? Well, I need to get Thor off the ice first… How to get Thor to move. He had an idea but it was not very orthodox. A breath to steady himself, and he took a step onto the ice.

"Get back!" Thor ordered, used to Loki doing what he said.

"Come make me!" Loki challenged, forcing his voice not to stutter.

Thor leaned back, what? That did not sound like the Loki he knew.

Loki warily slid forward an inch. The ice stayed quiet. At least there was one advantage to being a lightweight. "You say you will be Asgard's greatest warrior and yet you are scared of a little ice?"

Thor wasn't scared of ice. He was scared of an enemy he couldn't fight. A few weeks ago, a Star Guard had drowned. A sword wasn't very useful against water.

"You are scared," Loki taunted with a roll of his eyes. "What a baby. And Sif calls me craven."

"She does not," Thor argued.

She does when you aren't around me, craven and worse, Loki thought. "She is certainly going to start with you after she hears about this." Loki skated forward another step, the ice still quiet. "Won't Odin be annoyed, the golden prince of Asgard is too scared to take a step." He was betting on Thor's short temper and it worked.

Bristling at the last gibe, Thor carefully took a step. The ice shifted again, almost cracking. He winced at the noise.

"You aren't even listening to me!" Loki called in as exasperated a tone as he could manage. "Listen to my voice and stop getting so distracted you coward!"

Thor took another tiny step. "I am no coward!" The ice shifted under the movement but Thor was paying more attention to proving Loki wrong.

"Prove it!" Loki challenged. "I can walk, I'm not scared."

The boys circled each other slowly, Thor walking closer to land as Loki walked further onto the ice. Loki kept up his taunts.

"I take it back," Loki smiled. "You're no coward, just gullible."

Gullible? "What do you mean by-" Thor took a step back and sand crunched under his boot. He was on shore now. How had he? Loki. "Brother!" He called, eyes wide in worry. He and Loki had switched places, Thor was on shore and Loki on the cracked ice of the lake.

Loki looked down. Visible cracks were spreading along the place he stood. The ice popped and groaned. He looked up at Thor, knowledge in his gaze.

Thor's fear came back when he realized what was happening. "Brother NO!"

One thought ran through his mind: Loki couldn't swim.

The ice broke and Loki was plunged into the lake.

* * *

**As you can guess this is a very different Loki then the one that attacked New York. He even has a stutter! Loki thinks he's such a disappointment but he had a lot more courage then Thor and he doesn't even known it. He'll figure it out soon!**

**Do you like?**


	2. Dark Water

**Chapter 2: Dark Water**

Loki was under the ice. He had managed to take a breath before the ice broke but found that his metal-toe boots were dragging him under. Looking down, he leaned over and loosened the laces, the icy cold water numbed his fingers, making them fumble. Finally he was able to kick them off.

When he looked up he realized that he had gotten turned around and couldn't find the break in the ice he had fallen though. He looked around desperately, his black hair swishing by his face. He couldn't see it!

He had no idea how to swim but kicked his feet in an attempt to go back up. When he reached the ice he banged his palm against it, hoping it would break. A few bubbles of his air rose up past his eyes. No. no, break! He punched it desperately. The noise echoed dully in the water, unnaturally loud. Swirls of blood snaked around his hands as he skinned his knuckles on the rough ice.

He tried to focus his magic to his fingers, to do something with it but he had been suppressing his magic for so long instead of learning to use it that it did not know how to respond to him, let alone help him. His heartbeat increased and adrenaline spiked, burning his air even faster as he panicked.

The numbing cold made his limbs feel heavy and his eyesight swam from lack of air. Break! The ice refused.

He couldn't think, his lungs hurt, dying for a breath more of his air. Shadows crept into his sight and he started to relax. Growling, he fought the effects in vain. No! Thor, help me!

The ice shrank away as he sank. Brother!

His eyesight faded as consciousness slipped away and the last bubbles of his precious oxygen drifted from his lips.

Blackness…

* * *

**Cliffhanger! **

**I don't know what it's like to drown but i think that is close from other various books i have read... And his first instinct is to call to Thor for help.**

**Please leave nice reviews and critique my work, i like having other people read it over for me. You'll notice stuff i miss. Thanks!**


	3. My Magic

**Chapter 3: My Magic**

Snow fell softly, covering the palace in a dusty white blanket. Flames, some kept alight magically, danced in the biting cold wind.

Thor pulled his red blanket around his shoulders close, taking another sip of the steaming hot cider. The chill he felt went much deeper than the temperature. His little brother had not only figured out how to get him to the safety of the shore he had also done so in the knowledge that the ice would break.

When Thor had tried to run back out onto the ice it had broken, soaking him. He hadn't noticed. Although Thor didn't remember shouting he obviously had and had attracted Vir's attention. The newly appointed Commander of the Star Guards had been off duty and luckily out of armor so he had jumped right into the lake. Vir was a strong swimmer and had dived under the surface.

Thor had stood there, up to his knees in ice water, staring at the spot where Vir had gone down. Then the ice had exploded outward and Vir surfaced, taking in a breath. He had one arm around Loki.

Thor took another sip from his mug and looked over at the bed he sat next to. Loki was breathing now, deep and rhythmic, the blankets pulled up to his chin. His little brother had yet to regain consciousness from their disastrous race but he was alive, that was all that mattered to Thor.

He is twice the Asgardian that I am, Thor thought sadly. He keeps his courage and walks onto the ice knowing it will probably break because I was too scared to move. Then I do nothing and he drowns. I know how to swim, Loki doesn't. I don't deserve him.

He looked out the window, thinking that Loki had always loved winter and watching the snow fall.

* * *

Loki thought he was still under the ice, fighting to breathe. His breath caught and he squirmed, feeling something trapping his limbs. He was shaken sharply, and he snapped awake taking a deep breath. Air had never tasted so sweet. He breathed deeply, eyes closed, trembling.

"Loki," Thor asked worriedly, sitting on his brother's bed. "Are you alright? Do you know where you are?" He leaned in close to Loki.

Loki slowly reopened his eyes. Thor's eyes were about an inch away from him. He jumped, "Thor!"

Thor smiled, "good you know who I am."

"Yes," Loki growled, his bearings still off. "You're the idiot that almost got me killed."

Thor flinched and leaned back. Well, he had that coming.

Loki glanced around. He was in his room. There were two blankets on his bed that he was in, that had been what he had felt trapping his limbs. He had obviously been in the memory of being under the lake and Thor had shaken him awake.

Thor didn't care that Loki was mad. He scooched forward and pulled Loki into a sitting position, engulfing him in one of his infamous bear hugs. "You can be mad at me, I deserve it."

"Thor, stop," Loki squirmed.

Thor released him. "Why did you do that anyway?"

"Next time I'll let you be the one to drown," Loki snapped, fairly certain Thor had just bruised some of his ribs.

Thor wasn't winning but it didn't bother him, as usual. "Vir pulled you out of the lake. You weren't breathing." His voice cracked. Realizing that he might have lost his little brother because he had not had Loki's courage had frightened Thor far worse than the threat of the ice breaking under him.

Loki had started breathing a few moments after Vir had set him on the shore and Thor had nearly passed out with relief. He had babbled the whole event to Vir and later his parents once they had gotten to the Healer's Ward. Odin had clearly not believed that Loki had been so much more courageous then his own son. For now, Loki was stuck in bed but he was still the hero of the hour.

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" Thor called before Loki could utter a word.

Frigga carefully opened the door and felt a warm smile spreading across her features when she saw Loki awake and sitting up.

"M-mother," Loki rasped, his throat and voice still rough. Was she going to scold him for disobeying her warning and going out into the forest?

She sat next to Thor without a word, running her fingers through Loki's soft hair, so soft it was like fur. Then she hugged him, a much gentler hug then Thor's. "Oh Loki…" her voice wavered.

So she wasn't going to scold him that was a plus. "I'm alright mother," Loki promised.

Frigga held him at arm's length, gazing at him, but Loki seemed to be correct. He had not suffered hyperthermia, a testament to the Jötunn immunity to the cold, so the only true injuries had been a sore throat and skinned knuckles. Very lucky for him.

Loki wrestled with himself and then mustered up enough courage to ask "mother?"

"Yes Loki?"

Loki looked down, his courage gone, "never mind." He wasn't used to asking for anything, especially help.

"Go on Loki," Frigga encouraged.

"Can you teach me magic?" he asked quickly.

Frigga blinked in surprise. Loki had been avoiding learning to use his magic for the sole reason that Odin didn't believe a true warrior needed it and he was forever pushing Loki to act like his brother instead of himself.

Thor leaned over and looked at Loki curiously, "magic?"

Loki nodded, making up his mind. "Mother I saw you do a teleportation charm once. If I had known how to do that I wouldn't be in bed now."

Teleportation was advanced magic but Frigga didn't say anything about that. She didn't have to think about it long. "All right."

"Father says a real warrior doesn't need magic," Thor pointed out, surprised that Loki had asked to learn.

"It would have helped today," Loki pointed out. "And it is my magic I can do with it as I please. And I please to learn to use it."

Thor nodded. He had no magic but Loki did.

"I can help," Frigga said thoughtfully, trying to figure out how she could teach Loki magic without her husband finding out and while keeping up with her duties as queen. "But not much."

"You're queen," Loki understood.

"You could try speaking to Freya."

Thor stuck out his tongue in distaste. "Freya's mean."

"Freya is the most powerful mage on Asgard," Loki argued, "why else do you think she leads the other mages?"

Thor huffed but was pleased, magic had its uses and Thor liked it. He had always loved watching Frigga do some spells when he was younger, now he could watch Loki. Then he thought about what father would say when found out Loki was going to learn magic and gulped.

* * *

**The whole reason Loki drowned was Odin. Just saying that. If you like Odin you won't like my style because Odin is just so bad to Loki. I mean, in the first Thor movie all he did was say a few lines and then go to sleep. Wonderful timing Odin. **

**Before this point Loki didn't do magic, now he does. Read on to get a first person view of how Odin treats Loki... read on when i post the next chapter that is, heh heh.**

**For those of you who thought Loki drowned, you're right. For those who thought i killed him i warn you again i love Loki. I'm mean as heck to him but i do not want him dead. Plus the whole marvel universe after this wouldn't quite work if Loki was dead and this is supposed to be stuff that happened before _Thor_.**


	4. Father's Scorn

**Chapter 4: Father's Scorn**

Sif hated magic. A few minutes ago she had been in the dining hall eating a light breakfast when those idiot twins had shown up. Amora and Lorelei, were twin sisters who were orphans, street rats who just happened to have magic. They should still be on the streets those commoners…

What she hated about magic today was that she had gotten into an argument with Amora just after the sisters had showed up. Fine, Amora had jumped to Lorelei's rescue because of Sif taunting her but that brat had tried and failed to levitate a tray of food and gotten cider splashed on Sif's dress. Jonelle, Lyessa, and the other court girls sitting near her had backed her up. If the Asgardians had to deal with magic at all they ought to make sure that those who claimed to be mages actually had some skill.

Anyway, Amora had scooched Lorelei behind herself, cleaned up the mess with a wave of her hand, and started speaking to Sif softly in an attempt to calm her. As if. That Lorelei had dirtied her dress and almost gotten her beautiful blonde hair dirty. When Sif hadn't calmed down, Amora had just hexed her. It was a harmless hex that made Sif see everything upside down as if she were on her head.

Sif had made an utter fool of herself trying to leave the hall and now stalked down a hallway, her sight finally righting itself. When she saw Prince Loki, a weakling in her eyes who always followed Thor around like an idiot and was too scared to fight, it did not end well.

Loki was walking towards her with a book under his arm. He was always reading, what a fierce warrior. "If it is not the mighty hero of the day," Sif taunted. "What are you off to now? Reading another book second son? You should work on your fighting skills, oh wait, I forgot, you have none."

Loki had never flinched from Sif's insults before and he did not start now. Oddly enough, the only time he didn't stutter was around her. He sighed. "I am in a hurry Sif." The only reason you taunt Lorelei is because she isn't a very strong mage and the only reason you taunt me is because I'm not either. You always back off when Amora shows because she _is_ a mage you coward.

"Hurry to do what? Try and kill Thor again?"

_That_ made Loki flinch. "What?"

"You pushed Thor onto the ice but ended up falling in yourself, Vir should have just let you drown." Sif accused, running a hand through her golden hair, unmatched in beauty by any on Asgard.

Loki shook his head. "Not true." Sif's insults had never bothered him – well, not much – and now that he was busy with his magic, it _really_ didn't bother him. "If you want to say something useful, ask Thor what happened." His eyes slid over to her, "if you can find him that is. He doesn't exactly go out of his way to seek you out. I can't imagine why he does that."

Sif bristled. "Thor will be mine jinxslinger."

"And I'm the Prince to Jötunnheim," he snorted. Thor had too much sense to deal with Sif in any other way then marveling in her beauty her hair gave her. As for his Gift, it was none of her business.

Sif opened her mouth but Loki beat her to it when he swiped his hand horizontally across the air and said "dakratos." He felt his magic drop slightly.

He watched her open her mouth and saw her lips move. Then her eyes got big and she tried to speak again her mouth opening and closing like a silent fish. Loki could only keep a straight face for so long before laughing.

Sif looked at him furious. How had he silenced her melodious voice?

Loki stepped forward, emerald eyes alight with mischief, the dangerous, knife-like smile of a trickster showing itself for the first time. "Amora and Lorelei are not the only mages anymore _Lady_ Sif," he whispered. Then he stepped back and spoke louder, "you should be able to talk in an hour or so or maybe I'll do everyone a favor and make it permanent." He used his agility to dodge her slap and dart past her with a laugh.

Sif didn't bother trying to catch him. No one could. His only skill is running away, she fumed as she stormed off in the other direction. On top of that, her sight warped and suddenly she was looking at everything upside down again. Loki's hex had accidentally reactivated Amora's. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Still, laughing, his magic flicking around him, Loki ran around a corner and straight into Odin.

"Father," He gulped as he stepped back, bowing as he always did around him. He shushed his magic quickly and slipped the book, a magic book, behind his back. Odin liked magic as much as Sif did.

"I see you are up and about again," Odin nodded curtly.

"Yes father." I've been 'up and about' for two days now, if you cared about me like you did Thor you would have learned that long ago, Loki thought venomously.

"And reading again," Odin sighed.

Despite the venom of Loki's thoughts towards his father, Odin's obvious disappointment still stung.

"With it snowing so heavily out, Thor and Fandral have claimed the smallest ballroom as their sparring ring. I would have hoped that you would be there honing your skills like a warrior instead of… reading." Odin finished distastefully.

Why can't you like me? What did I ever do to annoy you so? Loki thought to himself sadly. "Y-yes father," he mumbled again. His hex on Sif suddenly seemed very immature and useless. He _should_ be trying to learn his sword work not reading charms. But it had been fun.

"Don't mumble," Odin corrected sharply, "look up at me not your boots, back straight, and _stop muttering like a servant_. You are a Royal, I expect you to act like it."

"Yes father," Loki repeating, doing as Odin said.

Odin normally took little interest in Loki's doings unless it was to scold him. Luckily, that still applied and Odin did not take the book from him and look at it. He nodded a dismissal and Loki eked past him, his magic still a secret – for now.

* * *

**Today's my 18th birthday! I meant to post Monday. Did i post Monday to? Oh well, consider it a present if i did! **

**I just saw the traffic graph, 181 hits! I meant for my arc with Tilaria to be the main one but its based around her more then Loki so i get why its less popular. Thank you for reading anyway! I'm glad i'm not just posting my stories and they're not getting red by anyone. I will keep posting, never fear!**

**As you can see Loki and Odin don't get along even when Loki's younger (they obviously don't get along when they're older if the events of _Thor_ and _Avengers_ are any indication). Is it a wonder he has a stutter when faced with that? **

**Not to mention Sif. ****Yes, Sif's hair is blonde. Her hair was blonde originally but Loki cut it off and it grew back the black-brown like it is in the movies. That hasn't happened... yet. For now, she's just a court star who has no reason to have anything to do with fighting. Yep, she 's conceded. In my story Loki and Sif are mortal enemies so like it says on my account there is zero Loki/Sif slash.**

**Jinxslinger is a nickname non-mages give to mages. It's an insult obviously. Mages call their magic either their magic or their Gift. Usually they just say magic. Saying its a Gift is arrogant and annoys non-mages. Most mages have no reason to pick a fight with a non-mage. It wouldn't be fair for the non-mage as Loki demonstrated with Sif but Sif's a slow learner.**


	5. Mother's Love

Loki walked quickly up the stairs to Frigga's personal study. As ever, it was lined with shelves and books wall to wall. A large stained glass window showing a flock of butterflies and a field of flowers provided plenty of light and there were light crystals on the ceiling if more was needed. It had to be magical light however, Frigga allowed no fire near her books. There was a table to one side good for writing and a cushioned bench under the window for reading. The center of the room had been cleared for spell work.

Frigga was sitting on the bench, looking out the window when Loki entered. She loved the image of the glass, a touch of spring warmth in the cold of winter or gloom or rain. The shards of multi-color light lit up the room in the most unique of ways. One thing that caught Loki's attention was that every time he saw the window, the butterflies were in different positions of flying or sitting on flowers.

"Hello mother," Loki smiled. "I got the charm book you wanted from the library." He looked around the multitude of books. "Even if you have enough books."

Frigga laughed softly and held out a hand, levitating the book from Loki's hands and to her. She flipped it to a page with a smile. "You can never have enough books my dear son. As to why this book, it has beginners magic. You will have to wait and learn before you can read from my books."

Loki tightened his lips but said nothing. One thing he was, was patient, but he was also still ten. "Why can't I try a more advanced spell?"

Frigga hummed, trying to figure out how to phrase an answer. Well, he needed to know this. "You have never been in battle so you do not know just how dangerous magic is. It is one of, if not the, most lethal arts of the Nine Realms. Do you know about Irisa?"

Loki nodded. "Æsir orphan who raised herself on the street. She turned out to be a mage but never got any training because of she was just a commoner, so she lost control of her magic and leveled two blocks, killing herself and everyone in those blocks." That was why Amora and Lorelei were here despite also being orphans. If you were a mage, no matter your rank, you got training or else risk something like Irisa happening again.

"Exactly." Frigga nodded. "It poses dangers not just to those around it but to the mage in control as well. Have you used any magic recently?"

Loki scuffed his foot, quiet. "I hexed Sif," he answered hesitantly.

Frigga looked up at him. "You hexed Sif."

Loki looked at her as innocently as he could, "it was only a silence hex."

Frigga decided to dismiss it. Sif was beautiful on the outside but not the inside, she knew that already. Likely, Sif'd been asking for it. "Did you notice you magic weaken?"

"Yes," Loki nodded. "Was it because I used some of it in a spell?"

"Correct. What do you think happens when you use all of your magic up?"

"I can't do any spells?" Loki offered, unsure.

"Partially. If you use too much at once, you'll burn out and can't do anything for a while. If the drain is too extreme you'll go into what is called a 'mage trance,' a temporary coma until your magic rejuvenates." Frigga looked down. "Your body is smart, you'll pass out first but if you do lose all of your magic… magic is your life force so if you use it all up…"

You die. Loki finished to himself.

"That is why I want to start you on basic spells until you get the feel of how much magic you have to use." Frigga continued. "You have been suppressing your magic for some time so it will be stronger than most. The basics will be easy for you." Her confidence in his skills was a welcome change for Loki. "In fact, according to Thor, you've been falling asleep these past few nights at your desk with your head on a spell book."

"No I don't," Loki frowned, "I always wake up in my bed." Then he understood. "Thor."

"He has had to move you to your bed every night so I believe you have read the bare basics already, correct?" Frigga knew that Thor had been taking extra care of Loki of late. It had been two days and three nights since Loki had drowned and Thor still felt guilty.

"I think so but I haven't tried any real spells other then, the, hex, on, Sif." He paused with every word.

"You can try now." Frigga stood in a swish of skirts and walked over to Loki. She paused suddenly. "Loki, because you have been suppressing your magic and are now using it, it is going to be wild. You must promise to be careful with it and keep your emotions under control. You magic could very well activate on its own."

"I promise," Loki nodded.

Frigga handing the book him the book back. "Good, then try pronouncing this."

Loki took the book back and looked at the runes. "Re-Resen torit, ah, torix." He looked up at her. "Resen torix."

"Right again. Mages are naturally good readers with excellent memories, we need such skills in our spell work. After all a spell isn't very good if you can't read it or remember it." Frigga shrugged. "Now, see that squiggle underneath the words?"

Loki did. It looked like a straight line with curls at either end.

"When you first use a spell you have to do the hand signs and say the words. In fact, some mages have more luck if they use a wand in the beginning to trace the symbols. As you get better you will no longer need the hand motion, the words, or even eye contact with your target."

"What good are the movements?" Loki asked.

"They allow you to focus your magic and help you tell it what to and how to do in order to work the spell. The more advanced you are, the more used to the spells your magic is used to, and so the less supplements you need." She pointed at her stain glass window. "For now, do all three. This is an illusion and animation spell." She decided not to tell him what it did, it would be a pleasant surprise.

Loki stepped forward and looked down at the book, making sure he had the words correctly. Then he closed it and shifted it to one hand. He raised his other and pointed at the window, looking at the butterflies. "Resen torix," he said as he flicked his hand.

Nothing happened. "Ah," he muttered.

"Your magic responded," Frigga tapped a few fingers on her thigh. "I see the problem, the hand sign for this spell is fluid, like water. You have to trace the design in the air, not just wave your hand. It has to be precise."

Loki nodded. His OCD with precision was another sign of a mage. He took a breath to calm himself and then raised his hand again. "Resen torix," this time he traced the rune in the air delicately in one flowing motion. The rune materialized and flashed emerald. He jumped back.

The butterflies on the window moved their wings. Loki stepped closer, shocked. They started flying around the window and then suddenly flew off the window and around the room, looking like little multicolored pieces of light, each one trailing sparkles. He looked up at them in awe.

"Direct them," Frigga offered. "Use the hand you traced the rune with, they will follow it."

Loki raised his right hand and moved it to the door. The butterflies went to the door. He laughed and looked at Frigga, beaming. He raised the hand above his head, making them go to the ceiling. He turned his wrist in a circle and the butterflies circled overhead, making a shimmering disk of sparkles and bugs.

Suddenly, they exploded into rainbow dust.

Loki jumped and felt the drain on his magic as the spell ended. His eyesight blurred and the room turned around him. Frigga caught him as his legs gave. That was the drain from using his magic in the spell. He looked up at his mother. "Why did they stop?"

"It is a temporary spell," Frigga nodded at the window. The butterflies were back on the glass, if in different positions. "Nicely done."

"Mother?"

"Yes Loki?"

"Can I do it again?"

* * *

T**his weekend i went to Medieval Times in Dallas. I recommend it. You get dinner and see a show unfold in the arena below as knights joust in the king's tournament. It's awesome.**

**For the story this chapter takes place a few minutes after the last. You think Odin is a little prejudce? Most of that is because Loki is Laufey's son and Laufey and Odin are like mortal enemies. The rest is because Loki is the smaller, weaker, and in his eyes - useless second son. Frigga likes Loki more because he is very logical and not so hot-tempered as Thor. Even if he's Laufey's son, she doesn't care. Odin's a jerk.**

**The chance of death among mages is some of the highest. If you're wondering why they'd risk it here are two reasons:**

**1\. Either you're born with magic or you aren't not everyone born with magic ever has their magic awaken to the point that they can be trained as mages and some are stronger then others but it is there. Not using it would be like walking around with an eye closed even though there's nothing wrong with your eye or walking around without glasses even though you need it. It's normal.**

**2\. Irisa. Completely made up but true in this universe. You'll see later on exactly what can happen if a mage, an untrained one especially, loses their temper.**


	6. Sword Play

**Chapter 6: Sword Play**

Loki walked as quietly as he could, feeling his head swimming. He had exhausted himself from the butterfly illusion but had given Frigga a fairly good idea of how much magic he had. From that, she could outline some spells for him to do each day to improve his skill and stamina. Frigga, before he had left, had taken Loki's hand and given him a piece of her magic. It was called dosing and mages could do it to each other if one was exhausted to restart their magic. Considering how little practice he had, his mother had advised him not to try using spells with the bit of Frigga's magic that Loki had temporarily.

She had mentioned something called drinking as well and Loki had a feeling it didn't involve wine. Indeed, it was when one mage forcibly took another mage's magic. It was forbidden on all the Realms. Now that _his_ magic was active, any other mage would be able to sense it. Loki didn't let that bother him. Getting his magic stolen wasn't nearly as high up on his list of worries as Odin finding out that he was actively using it.

I just wished I didn't have to go get Thor for lunch. He tapped his fingers on the cover of the book he had. If I don't though, he'll probably forget about it.

Thor and his "friends" had claimed the smallest of the ballrooms, the one with the bird silhouettes on the floor and painted doves on the ceiling. Its walls were made of giant panes of glass. How someone thought it would be a good idea to let Thor and the other noble children spar in a room covered in fragile glass – _Thor_ with a _sword_… Well, he wouldn't have to clean up.

There were the doors now, partially open. He could hear all the clashing and cursing that came with sparring practice. He'd just go in, get Thor and get out. Besides, with Thor there, none of the boys would bother him. Someone would break something before this day was done, Loki would bet on it. Right on cue, he heard a crash and the telltale noise of a large mirror breaking.

He sighed. That was one reason why he didn't like swords. Sword fighting had no grace to it; it always looked so… so messy. That was battle but he thought it ought to have a bit more style in his view. The way Loki was built, sword and shield didn't work for him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Someone shouted.

Loki perked up at the noise. That was Thor. Of course it was Thor. He hesitated but peered inside, careful to stay quiet.

Thor was sitting on the floor, his sword, a metal one with dull edges, was some distance away. What was left of the mirror was hopelessly cracked and large pieces were lying on the floor. Finer shards were scattered about the area, some as fine as glitter. Thor was covered in glitter and there was some blood running down his temple.

As Thor looked around he saw Loki, of course he did. "Brother!" He called with a smile.

There was nothing for Loki to do but walk in. He made a show of apprising the mess. "Nicely done," he complemented.

Thor huffed and stood without setting his hands on the glass covered floor. Some of the glitter fine glass fell off him and more fell when he shook himself. He turned and looked at what was left of the mirror. "Rats, father's going to kill me."

"Your problem," Loki smiled.

One of the other boys there, Jaro Grímarrson, looked at Loki curiously. He hadn't been sure that weakling Prince even _had_ a voice.

Thor glanced at Loki with a 'help me' look.

Loki shook his head but paused when Thor winced, another cut appearing on his hand. He was still covered in glass. His eyes shifted to Jaro and the other boys that usually followed him around, then back to Thor.

Thor got it. "Jaro, you and the others might as well leave, I'm done until Fey gets all this glass out and Odin might kill me as it is for this."

Jaro frowned, but bowed. "Yes my Prince." He waved at the other three and they left. Rats, he had wanted to see what Odin's second son was going to do. He made eye contact with Loki as he left and the two boys appraised each other like wolves from rival packs sizing up for a future fight.

Loki waited until he was sure they were gone before turning back to Thor. "Thor, those four are trouble."

Thor looked at him curiously. "They are good with swords."

"That doesn't mean it is a good idea to trust them." Loki warned.

"Can you do something with the glass before father sees?" Thor changed the subject.

"The damage is very thorough."

"Please brother," Thor begged. "Father said I could use this ballroom only if I didn't damage it."

"Then why didn't you get a mage to put wards in front of the mirrors?" Loki sighed.

"A what?"

"Ward." Loki explained. "It's like a forcefield. Mages can put them around – or in this case in front – of breakable objects. You would have hit the ward instead of the mirror and wouldn't have this mess."

"I shall keep it in mind," Thor promised. "But you _are_ a mage, can you do anything?"

"A mage for two days," Loki sighed. "But I can try something. Hold still."

Loki had seen a basic reconstruction spell in one of his books. He hadn't looked at it very closely but he was sure he could manage it. After all, he had some of his mother's magic.

"_Hiratai yemar ti sa_," Loki said, moving a hand in an x shape with one vertical slash through it – a six pointed star, the basic symbol for healing magic. His pronunciation was not perfect he could tell but it still worked.

Thor watched in fascination as emerald sparkles danced around the glass, landing on them and coating them in light. They trembled and slowly levitated off the ground, clicking back into place onto the mirror, the seams fixing themselves. After that, the smaller pieces patched the holes.

Thor hissed as the cuts on him got bigger and the glass in the cuts levitated out. A cloud of glitter hovered and rose around the boys like a pack of crystal fireflies before settling back onto the mirror. The last cracks faded.

The spell released the hold on Loki's magic and he collapsed.

Thor, who had been smiling at the wonder of magic, turned but wasn't able to catch Loki in time. He knelt by his brother's side, "brother! Are you alright?"

Loki's eyes fluttered open, "yes."

Thor helped him stand up and picked up the book handing it back to him. Loki took it with a nod, steadying himself.

"Why are you always reading brother?" Thor asked Loki suddenly. "If you sparred more, father would have no reason to get cross with you."

Loki could tell Thor was trying to help. Father will always find a reason to be cross with me and I still don't know why. "I need the practice that's why. I am dyslexic."

"Doesn't that mean you can't read?"

"I can't read well," Loki corrected. "The letters get all scrambled up and like and reflecting themselves so they look backwards. All mages are dyslexic. Our minds are wired to read the runes of magic, reading anything else, like the written version of our language is difficult because of that. I have a worse case then most but i read enough that I'm able to overcome it." Somewhat...

"You never told me that before."

"You didn't have to know. Still don't I suppose. I can handle myself," Loki promised at Thor's frown.

Thor decided to drop the subject and picked up his sword.

"Now come to lunch, that's what I came to tell you anyway." Loki straightened his tunic, pretending him passing out for a few seconds had never happened. He had just burned Frigga's magic and without that there, there was nothing to keep his own volatile magic quiet.

* * *

**You're saying that I am posting everything on Tuesday instead of Monday i might as well make Tuesday my normal day right? Sorry. **

**Thor is a good fighter but he is - as Loki always calls him - an oof. Jaro's opinion of Loki is shared by others sadly. For Asgardians, if you don't fight you're not a true Asgardian and Loki doesn't fight. The only weapon he's allowed to train with is a sword and he doesn't like using swords so go figure. Remember Jaro. He won't really come into play for this story but he will show up again when the Princes are older.**

**Loki is starting to be a little more talkative. Being able to use magic is something no non-mage could describe or understand but it is wonderful and it is helping his self-confidence so he does have some now but his magic isn't really under control yet. Eek.**

**As for the dyslexia, there is an author on this site who does Thor Fanfic and is dyslexic. I give them full credit and more credit for being so awesome. Your stories are amazing.**

**As for everyone else. 414 people have viewed my story and i have had one review. Thank you for the review by the way lederra but everyone else is being annoying. I want reviews! Even if its critique just so long as you don't hate. Please!**


	7. Wild Magic

"This is so stupid," Thor growled, staring at the rapidly falling snow. It was piling up and would be the first storm in a few hours. "Blizzards aren't supposed to start until next month, Jól has just begun!"

"We are still snowed in," Loki chimed as he kept walking.

After a moment, Thor stopped glaring out the window and followed. He was bored. "Hey Loki, want to race?"

"The last time you asked that I drowned," Loki grumbled.

"We're in the palace," Thor whined, "not by a lake. We could race to the dining hall. I'm bored."

"Then you run," Loki said.

Thor growled. "Running's no fun if you don't have someone to race against."

Says you, Loki thought. Loki's eyesight blurred again, an effect from his spell casting. Maybe a little exercise will help that. "All right," he sighed, making a big deal out of it. "I'll race."

"Yes!" Thor looked around and walked to where a tile was cracked. "We can start here."

Loki walked up beside him. At least I dropped off my book in the library on the way here. Too bad Thor doesn't stand a chance. "On three?"

Thor nodded and the two of them readied. "One," he whispered.

"Two," Loki said.

"Three!" They shouted at once and started running.

Loki fell into an easy, relaxed stride that he knew from experience he could keep up for hours. Thor was a little bit ahead. It was awhile yet to the dining hall so Loki kept up his steady lope instead of sprinting. He'd sprint when he was closer to the hall.

As he neared the hall he noticed that Thor was struggling to keep up his blistering sprint but refusing to show it. Loki lengthened his strides, easily pulling up besides Thor. He didn't like showing off his running – it wasn't the most useful skill for a warrior to have after all and a warrior Loki would be. A warrior Odin wanted him to be.

"Jotunn," Thor grumbled when he saw how easily Loki was running.

Calling me an elf would be more accurate, Loki thought, elves have very good stamina. He didn't correct Thor however; he ran faster, putting some distance between himself and his sibling.

"Loki!" Thor gasped.

"I thought you wanted a race," he asked innocently, "focusing on strength is good but speed is handy to." Loki checked his pace anyway so he was even with his brother, not used to leading. Thor led, father always said that Thor would be king. Odin said that Loki wasn't a good warrior, so how could he be a good king?

"I did," Thor sighed, "I guessed asked for it." He laughed a little bit and flashed Loki a smile, warming him.

The two turned the last corner to the dining hall, neither really looking ahead. Loki saw the danger first and tried to cut his momentum. Thor shot ahead of him and the boy turned towards his little brother curiously, why is Loki stopping? Then he thought to look ahead and saw the danger to. He managed to skid to a stop with his nose about an inch from Gungnir.

Slowly, Thor looked up and gave a weak smile. "Hello father."

Odin looked from Thor to Loki. "Thor, what did I tell you about running in the halls?"

"Not to… do it?" Thor offered with a weak smile.

Odin didn't respond to him but fixed Loki with a one-eyed glare as if it were his fault. The race had been Thor's idea but Loki said naught. I wonder how much trouble I would get in if I used my silence hex on father. Loki quickly brushed the thought away. Hex the Allfather, not likely...

Another voice chuckled and the boys looked to the source besides Odin. It was an Æsir in Star Guard uniform with red hair. He holds himself with the confidence of a commander used to giving orders. I'll bet he's high ranking, Loki thought.

"Thor, this is Captain Eirill," Odin introduced. "He will be training you in the ways of a warrior.

Thor grinned, still breathing hard. "Hello Captain. Will you be teaching Loki to?"

"If I see him I'll be sure to ask if he wants lessons," Eirill promised.

A little warning flag went off for Loki who was standing next to Thor and who was not under an invisibility charm.

Eirill glanced at Loki and then back to Thor. "It is fine for you to be making friends my prince but perhaps you should not play with a servants child so. The lad might get ideas above his station."

Thor's features turned blank. What? The only person around him was Loki.

Loki dropped his head to look at his boots, swallowing dryly.

"Send him away and let us have a talk for warriors," Eirill told Thor gently.

Thor still didn't understand who Eirill was talking about. He was dressed in fine clothes with a dazzlingly bright red tunic embroidered with gold thread. Loki was in plain black pants and a simple emerald tunic without any of the trappings of wealth Thor so liked to wear. The brothers looked nothing alike.

What hurt Loki was not Eirill's false assumption it was that Odin stayed quiet and did not jump in and correct Eirill.

Thor finally realized what Eirill meant. "Loki is my brother!" Thor shouted, stomping his foot.

The look on Eirill's face hurt even worse. It was a crestfallen, shocked look. He hadn't been teasing or tormenting Loki; he truly hadn't known that Loki was the younger prince.

Eirill looked to Odin but Odin's expression remained neutral.

Loki had oft suspected that Odin warned those who were to meet the princes of their… differences in appearance before hand. This confirmed it for him. The only time he parades me around like he does Thor is when he has to; otherwise, he'd just as soon pretend I don't exist. What did I ever do father, to make you hate me so much?

Thor grabbed Loki's sleeve. "Come on brother, let's eat before I lose my appetite." He dragged Loki, the mage's head down again, towards the dining hall and away from the adults.

Eirill watched them walk around another corner and disappear before he turned back to Odin. "Why did you not correct me?"

"You were to be Thor's mentor," Odin shrugged, "I did not intend for you to meet Loki." Then he to, walked towards the dining hall, leaving Eirill to look after him in surprise.

Loki slowly took a sip of his soup. It was too hot for him but he had taught himself a nice little charm and whispered it now. The steam wafting from his lunch vanished as his temperature dropped. The food was always too hot for him. It wasn't food he was thinking about.

He was still silent after Eirill's mistake. Odin didn't correct him. He didn't care. Will nothing I ever do make him speak to me with pride in his voice? I saved Thor. Yeah, I did save Thor. I walked out onto the ice knowing it would break and I'd do it again to help my brother.

Maybe if I kept my head up more. I was acting like a servant would, following Thor around like a second shadow. I always keep my head down when I walk and never make eye contact with anyone. I should walk like a prince, after all, I am one.

A patch of space by the wall moved and Amora materialized, arms crossed. Lorelei appraised the crowd behind her twin.

Sif combed her fingers through her perfect blonde hair as she and Lorelei glared at each other. Lorelei narrowed her eyes slightly and Sif's mug tipped over, spilling cider over the sleeve of her red dress. She jumped and jerked her hand back, standing up before too much ran off the table to her dress.

Jonelle, sitting on Sif's right bristled at Lorelei. Who did that street rat think she was, getting her mistress dirty?

Odin had followed the boys to lunch and now sat speaking to Tyr. He glanced at them but turned back to Tyr after a moment, giving the children free rein.

Sif stalked towards where Loki, Thor, and Thor's friend Fandral were sitting.

"Sif, if I may," Fandral offered. "It may not be wise for a non-mage to engage in a vendetta against a mage."

"Two," Amora promised with a glare at Sif.

"Three," Loki quietly whispered into his drink as he took a sip.

"Lady Sif," Fandral tried again.

"I do not require your aid," Sif snapped at him.

"Best not Fandral," Thor warned. Even he could sense the catfight brewing.

Fandral leaned back in his chair so it was only on two legs, an old habit. "I was just trying to be-" He leaned a little too far back and the chair tipped over with a crash, spilling him onto the floor. "-helpful."

"Oh very helpful."

"_You_ are not always the most helpful _my Prince_," Fandral retorted to Thor as he stood.

"Thor, Fandral," Odin called, waving the boys over. Now they were in trouble. Glaring at each other they went to speak with the Allfather.

With them gone, Sif was free to speak her mind, and speak she did. "If you street rats and the mighty shadow prince," that meant Loki, "are done giggling maybe you could _shut up_."

"Mayhaps the Prince could use that silence hex on you again," Lorelei snapped. Being orphans, neither twin was well versed in tact.

"The mighty hero here is likely still planning his next attempt on Thor," Sif huffed.

"I would never hurt Thor," Loki whispered.

"So you say," Sif taunted. "But when Vir pulled you out of the ice water you were not even cold. So how did you do that when you have no magic, second son? That eager for the crown?"

"Thor will get the crown," Loki meant what he said now. "I am not interested."

"Of course you are interested," Sif dismissed.

"Thor is firstborn," Loki's patience was not infinite. "He is the crown heir, he will be king." A knife on the table near him glimmered as his magic touched it without him knowing it. "So shut up."

"Humph," Sif huffed. "And you rats should not even be here." She curled her lip. "The mages must be truly desperate to look for _commoners_ to join their ranks, especially when that little brat behind you isn't even a real mage."

Lorelei did not shrink back.

"The lot of you mages. You cannot become warriors so you turn to magic. You are too craven to meet an enemy head on so you fight from a distance. Never able to earn the approval you – eek!" Sif's rant was cut short. She stood there, frozen with fear and shock.

Loki looked at her as if she were a bit of prey. His normally bright emerald eyes had shadows in them. "I said shut up." Then he noticed what he had done. The knife that had been next to him was now stuck in the wall behind Sif, still vibrating. Sif's left cheek was cut, a neat thin slash that dripped blood, made from where the knife had clipped her. A little to the right and she'd be dead.

"Loki!" Odin snapped, voice harsh.

Loki looked over to his father's furious gaze. Even with only one eye, it was still quite a gaze. "Oops."

"Oops!" Odin demanded. "What was that!?"

"Magic," Loki eeped.

"Magic!"

Oh no, Thor thought. Now Loki's in trouble.

"Yes," Frigga, sitting by Odin, answered for Loki.

Odin turned to glare at his wife.

"I have been teaching Loki magic, he is a natural mage," Frigga shrugged. "Because you would not let him learn when he was younger – as should have been done – his magic has been suppressed. Now that he is learning, it is free, if a little wild. That is how it is for all mages who start training late."

"I do not care for excuses," Odin snapped. "I do not want him learning magic. A real warrior does not need to rely on such trickery."

"Had he known magic a few days ago, neither he nor Thor would have been in any danger on that ice." Frigga countered.

"Had you not disobeyed me Sif would not have been in any danger."

"_I disobeyed you_," Frigga warned, emphasizing every word.

Now Odin had done it.

Lorelei tapped Amora's arm. Amora looked over at her.

"Where is Loki?"

Amora looked up. Loki was gone.

* * *

**Sorry about all of this but i realized i forgot a scene and i had to put it in (the one with Eirill). Then i realized the chapter was too long so i had to break it into two. X( The rest of the story is unchaged, i just added a scene so you don't have to reread anything.**

**Jól is the Norse equivalent of December. i use Norse months but i'll tell you the names translated so don't worry.**

Vidgealz C Valvatore** asked why Odin hates people who read. I don't know if its rhetorical or not but I will answer it anyway: Odin will take any excuse to be mad at Loki. He is letting his old vendetta with Laufey color how he views his son. Loki is a good person at heart right now, he is a person of the commoners and doesn't like how big the gap is between the nobles and commoners. He has magic so he's strong and is very clever and understands. At this point, he'd make a better king then Thor and Odin knows it and fears it. So he's putting Loki down to prevent Loki from gaining enough confidence to try and be king.**


	8. Intruders

Loki had quietly inched from his chair, projecting an aura of _'don't look over here, nothing interesting'_ and had managed to leave the hall unnoticed. Now he ran. He didn't know where he was going but he ran anyway. What had he been thinking? Magic! Odin would never forget this.

He skid to a stop just before stepping on the Rainbow Bridge. A kaleidoscope of colors shimmered on the clear crystal path. Further to the left, Loki could see where the Bridge crossed the ocean to where Heimdall stood guard.

He had been a fool. It was not as if he would have made a good mage anyway. He wasn't good at anything. Never a good warrior or Prince or son. I might as well be a servant… Trembling, he collapsed to his knees, hands in the snow in front of him, eyes stinging.

"Come on, this way!" Someone ordered.

"Did we lose the Guard?" Another asked.

"Of course we did, Nira fell back. He's long dead with the rest." The first voice laughed.

Loki looked up sharply at the last comment. Kill a guard? The voices drew nearer. He looked around and took shelter behind a stack of empty wine barrels, leveling the snow with a flick of his hand to hide his footprints.

"How do we get out of here?" The second voice whined again.

"Shut up!" The first ordered bossily. "The alarms are going to go off any second when they realize we took it." He paused. "We wait for Nira to catch up. She's the boss."

"Fine," the whiner muttered. "If we stay here too long the guards are going to find us first. I don't want to fight the whole army."

Loki heard the sound of a hit and the whiners "ow!"

"Nira's not here so I'm in charge and I say we wait for Nira." Bossy ordered. "Besides, if those fool Star Guard try anything we'll just use this on them." His fingers tapped against something metal.

"You touch the Tesseract, you're dust, isn't that what Nira said?" Whiner asked.

Loki hissed slightly then put a hand over his mouth, heart in his throat. They luckily hadn't heard the slight noise. The Tesseract was a super weapon, an Infinity Stone that was kept in the Weapons Vault. Of the six stones, it was the only one currently not lost.

"Kárr wants that thing you know," Whiner whined. "We have to be alive to give it to him."

Bossy chuckled. "I know and can you imagine the reward he will give us for presenting him with the Tesseract? These Æsir won't stand a chance against us once the Tesseract is in Kárr's hands."

Kárr was the name of the leader of the Marauders. The Marauders have the Tesseract, Loki thought dully. Next to the Infinity Gauntlet, it was likely the most powerful artifact in the Realms. He slumped against the wall behind him. How did they even get to Asgard? They were a band of outlaws that functioned on Vanaheim. He knew the stories the Star Guard who fought them told: no child too young to kill, no woman ugly enough to not steal, no honor worth being used. They would have no qualms about killing Loki if they found him. Now he knew how Thor felt, too scared to move.

"I am pleased to see that you fools haven't forgotten the Tesseract in some bar," a female voice spoke sounding colder then snow and harsher than nails on glass.

"Did you take care of the guards Nira?" Whiner asked.

"Of course I did," the female voice, Nira, snapped. "You don't hear any alarms going off. Too bad it had to be a squad of cadets we stumble onto; they were hardly any fun to fight. Now come on. We return to the portal and deliver our prize to Kárr."

"Yes Nira," they both chimed.

Loki could hear them taking a few steps away from him.

"Wait," Nira snapped suddenly. She sighed, "You two are idiots can't you feel that?"

"We're no mages like you," Bossy grumbled.

Loki felt faint. Mages could sense other mages by their magic. Loki's magic was active now and he didn't know how to cloak it!

Suddenly, some force grabbed his collar and dragged him out from behind the barrels throwing him into the open. Nira raised her hand and lifted him into the air. She tilted her head to one side as she apprised him. "Younger then I would expect considering how strong your magic is." Using her other hand she traced a few runes that flashed as stormy of a gray as her eyes. "There," she purred, "silence hex. Now you can't scream."

"Ah, just kill the brat and let's get going," Bossy snorted.

"Yeah," Whiner agreed.

They were Vanir, all three with black hair and olive skin. The one named Nira was a young teenager, not all that older than Loki himself. Her name, Nira, sounded familiar…

Nira glared at them and lowered Loki slightly, pinning him to a wall. "I need a drink," she hummed to Loki. "You should be pleased, it's not often I met a mage strong enough to have magic worth taking. Don't worry, I'll put it to good use." She laughed, raising her free hand.

Gray magic crackled around her palm as she set it on his chest. If Loki could have screamed he would have. Nira's magic sliced into his own, plunging deep enough that his memories swirled up past his eyes. The lake, Odin, his rank, and more. Nira brushed them aside, others she watched before scattering them. Her magic seemed to drink his away, adding it to its own power. No magic, no life.

Nira dropped him suddenly and Loki collapsed into the snow, limp. His ears rang and his heart suddenly skipped a beat making him cough up blood, pain laced through his body centered on the spot where Nira had touched him. His magic was almost gone.

"Oh for the…" Nira swore.

The ringing in his ears was the alarm sounding. The theft or the dead cadets or both had been found out.

Nira turned back to Loki, licking her lips as she relished in the rush of stolen life force. He tasted like strawberries. She traced another rune and trapped his wrists behind his back with a figure-8 loop of shadows.

She looked at him, eyes the same lifeless gray as her magic. "If you don't cause any trouble strawberries I'll leave you behind alive when we go through my portal back to Vanaheim. Or I could just take you with me and drink your magic sip by sip, take my time and keep you alive so I can keep doing it."

Loki whimpered softly, unable to do anything else.

"Get him," the rune mage ordered her companions. "He's the prince, he'll make a nice hostage."

Bossy, not trusting Nira's magic, had gagged Loki and passed him to Whiner to carry. They were almost out of the city. Useless, he was useless!

'Stop Marauders!" Someone shouted.

"And here I believed you cared for your Prince," Nira chuckled as she turned.

There were six Star Guard.

The one who had shouted hesitated, seeing Loki in one of their grips, in too much of a daze still to do anything. "Hand over the Tesseract and the Prince and you will receive a fair trial," he warned. That was more than Nira deserved considering her crimes against her family and Realm.

"Doubtful," Bossy muttered.

Nira agreed with him but she wasn't going to surrender anyway. She let the charge she had gotten from Loki crackle to life, its rich emerald color had been bleached to a more lifeless gray. Then she let Loki's magic fade. On second thought…

She had twin daggers strapped to her thighs, more like short swords then daggers, their elaborate bronze hilts shaped like snarling dragons. Now they left their sheaths. "I'll save the magic I took for a real challenge."

"You may find us a challenge," one of the Guard warned.

Nira didn't answer but choose to engage him first. She ducked under his sword, her lack of armor making her _fast_. The Guard recovered with a stroke going down. Her daggers caught the sword as if fell, crossed like an x, trapping the blade between the bat wing like handguards. Smoothly, she used the momentum as a counterbalance and jumped into the air, kicking him across the face with her metal-toe combat boots at the same time she twisted her blades and his arm, breaking it. He stumbled back and Nira brought one of her blades up, his sword still tangled in the other one, and stabbed the dagger in his neck with a vicious down stroke, almost tearing his head off. His body slumped to the ground.

The whole attack had lasted maybe five seconds.

Another Guard engaged, this time more than one but Nira neatly danced away from their blades, slashing on their wrists and taking off a hand. Her blades were like needles, neatly striking into any chinks they found. In a minute's time, they were all dead, their blood splattered everywhere, including on Nira. Most of the bodies were in more than one piece. Calmly, Nira wiped her blades on one of the deads' cloak and sheathed them again.

Loki stared.

She flashed him a smile. "What is it strawberries, surprised that a girl can fight? Or that these are so much more effect then a sword?" She tapped her daggers. "Takes more skill then sword play but well worth it." Suddenly she raised her head and sighed. "These guards are stubborn." Sure enough, more were coming. "Not that I mind the warmup but I am on a schedule." Her eyes flickered to the others. "Back up."

Quickly, Whiner and Bossy did so, dragging Loki with them.

Nira let Loki's stolen magic come to life again but waited, holding it in check as she built up its power. Loki was a natural ice mage and that ability was now in play as swirls of frosty gray flakes hovering around her. When the Star Guard, these mounted, came into sight she attacked. The swirls of ice lashed out like whips, freezing what was in their path and icing the ground. The Guards at the front got the full brunt of the attack and Loki could only watch as his magic froze them and their horses solid. When they tripped and landed on the ground they shattered.

Those further back pulled up on the reins and Nira conjured a bristling, wolf like creature out of the ice, turning it loose on them. "Come on," she told her companions as she stalked past them. "That'll hold them."

It was indeed doing a wonderful job of that.

* * *

**Loki wants Odin approval soo badly and nothing he ever does is good enough for his father - Odin's not his father so that explains that but poor Loki just doesn't understand. Before, Loki didn't have his magic so he almost drowned. Now he has his magic and he nearly got Sif and got kidnapped. Thought: if he hadn't learned magic then Nira would never had drunk his magic and learned he was a prince and would have just killed him.**

**Nira isn't all that much older then Loki himself and she's already got a kill list of several thousand. Kills that she personally killed, their blood on her blades. Loki's four million or so kills at New York were technically not his they were the Chtiauri's. Loki only killed Coulson personally - a common mistake. Does anyone know the exact number of kills at New York? Leave a review with the answer if you do.**


	9. I'm A Prince To

The noise of the waterfalls that fell off the Edge of Asgard was shocking quiet. The water rumbled from the rivers but as there was no rocks for it to hit when it went over the edge, it simply and silently faded to mist.

They were going to Lookout, Loki realized. He knew the area well. It was a point of land that went all the way to the Edge, an island that the river ran around but was secluded and quiet. There was one oak tree there, a giant thing that had grown out of a tumble of river worn rocks that hid its roots. You could also walk off the edge of Lookout and walk off Asgard.

The Prince is smart enough not to cause trouble at least, Nira reflected. He would have recovered from the shock of her drink by now but had yet to say a word despite her silence hex having faded. It seemed her threat had worked.

"Isn't it clever strawberries?" She asked the terrified child. "Our portal is right here, where the Void touches Asgard, right on the Edge where no one would bother to look." She pet him like he was her pet. He would be as soon as she got back to Vanaheim. Karr would let her keep him, he _always_ let the Marauders keep their prizes. As if she would let a mage with as sweet of magic as his go. It simply came down to the question of how long Loki would survive her constantly drinking his magic. She had a feeling she would have him for a while.

She held a hand, careful not to let Loki's magic contaminate hers, and tentacles of magic slithered from her fingers to a point just beyond the Edge. They condensed together, awakening the sleeping portal and tearing away the camouflage. A disk of gold and iridescent magic appeared. The crackles of gray lightning were the color of Nira's magic, giving away that it was hers.

Triumphant, Bossy lifted the metal cube that the Tesseract was in. They were almost home. He dropped the cube suddenly with a screech, an arrow feathering his hand. Nira snarled and turned, twin daggers already in hand as she guessed the attackers.

A shimmer of gold rippled and an archer appeared, lowering his bow. Beside him Gungnir's glow faded as Odin dismissed the invisibility charm. "Release my son and the Tesseract Nira," Odin ordered. His eyes turned to the portal behind her and he raised Gungnir again, sealing it. Its hypnotic color faded to black.

Whiner let go of Loki in a moment of uh oh, reaching for his sword. Loki took a quick step forward but Nira shoved him back, clear off his feet. He slammed into the tree trunk and slumped to the ground.

"You are too late Allfather," Nira taunted. "Perhaps if you protected the other realms as fiercely as you did your precious Weapons Vault, the Marauders would never have been made. You do such a wonderful job of protecting the Realms that so many of us Vanir turned to banditry to feed our families."

"You do not have that excuse Princess Nira," Odin countered. "You should be protecting your people not robing them _or_ killing your family."

"I only killed one sister and my mother, the rest got away." Nira shrugged.

No wonder her name had sounded familiar, Loki realized. For Vanir, inheritance passed through the maternal line, with the daughters inheriting before the sons. Nira couldn't have the crown with her mother and older sister alive so she killed them to clear the way for herself. Her coup had failed. Her younger sister currently sat on the throne with their father serving as a Regent and her younger brother was - Hogun.

With Nira distracted he was able to lay on his side and pull his hands over is legs so they were in front again and remove the gag. It was nice to be able to breathe in air again. Nira hadn't noticed. He wanted to run but there was literally nowhere to go, his back was to the Edge and the only way to get to the safety of Odin was past Nira and her blades.

No, he shook his head, stop thinking like a coward. There has to be someway not only to get out of Nira's reach but defeat her. Imagine what father will say if I defeat her. I can prove to him that I am worth his attention. His magic cooed in his ears, wanting to help but unable to do so. The magic handcuffs were like restrainer cuffs and kept him from his magic, leaving it to hover _just_ outside his reach. Loki's eyes suddenly focused on the Tesseract a few feet from him where Bossy had dropped it. That was in reach.

"Nira!" Bossy shouted. "We have the Tesseract, forget it!" He looked around, cradling his hand, and realized that he didn't have the Tesseract. He found it. "Hey! Don't you dare you brat!"

Loki looked up. The metal around the Tesseract folded away and the Infinity Stone's cerulean blue light reflected in his eyes. "I might be Odin's second son and I may not be a warrior like Thor but I am still a Prince of Asgard!"

"Do not!" Odin shouted.

Loki grabbed the Tesseract.

A shockwave of energy rippled out from the Infinity Stone as Loki's touch woke it up. Its pure raw power burned away Nira's cuffs at the same time it burned Loki's palms and forearms. An alien blue color reflected in his veins and crept into his eyes. The power of the stone was overwhelming him, swamping is eyesight with a sea of blue. NO! He shouted at himself. I will not be the worthless one!

All the way in Chitauri Space, Chthon sensed someone touching the Tesseract. No – he realized with shock, not just touching it, surviving it, but _bringing it under control. _What mortal could possibly…?

Loki forced himself to stand on trembling legs, the Tesseract in his cupped hands. "I am not the golden boy like Thor but I am me!"

"No," Nira whispered, trembling. Her Vanir friends clung to her. "That's not possible! He said no mortal could use that power!"

"I can," Loki's voice echoed, rippled as if there were three Loki's speaking, a side effect of the Tesseract. The green of his eyes had been burned away by the power of the blue.

He has controlled it, Chthon, realized with awe, giving Loki his full and undivided attention. A mortal… Now, he wondered to himself, can he use it?

The Tesseract crackled to life and Loki's hair flowed, caught in a breeze no one else could feel. Nira, using her magic jumped away from her "friends" tucking into a neat flip that took her over Loki and in front of the portal. It was scarce a moment too soon as three bolts of energy flew from the Tesseract to the other Vanir. Two struck and one missed. Those that struck were trapped in a field of electric magic that tore their nerves to shreds and cooked their minds to mush.

Nira tried to use her magic to break Odin's seal but she was no match for Gungnir's might. She slammed a hand against it furiously as if that might do some good. Slowly, she turned back around to face Loki, terror plain on her face.

"Now you know I feel, little Princess," Loki taunted. He held out a hand and another bolt leaped from his fingers.

Nira froze, watching it in shock. Then, at the very last second, she jumped straight up, her augmentation still in effect. The Tesseract's attack smacked into Odin's seal. Gungnir was strong but it was no match for an Infinity Stone and the seal shattered. Her portal hummed back to life but its song was off a beat now. The cerulean blue of the Tesseract surged through the portal, destabilizing its matrix.

"I'm not done yet strawberries," Nira warned Loki almost playfully. Then she took the few steps to the Edge of Asgard and jumped into the portal. It seemed to freeze for a moment, her image frozen in time, twin daggers in hands. Then it shattered violently, exploding into triangular prisms. The prisms glittered like the butterflies Loki had conjured from Frigga's window and dissipated with a faint ringing sound like the last notes of a song.

There was a moment of socked silence. She was done. No one survived being caught in a collapsing portal. The few Star Guard with Loki gawked at him. Loki was breathing hard, his eyes still he pure cerulean blue, no white, no black, no green. The Tesseracts magic cackled over his form intermediately.

Perfect, Chthon purred. He had lost his corporeal form long ago but, using the Tesseract as a beacon was able to slip past those dratted Barriers protecting Asgard and materialize behind Loki. He was still little more than a ghost, but even that was an imposing image.

Loki jerked his head up, surprise lighting his unnatural blue eyes. Chthon grabbed his arm, non-corporeal claws somehow sinking into the child's flesh. "You are clever boy, I'll say that, now give me my Tesseract," he hissed.

"Chthon!" Odin shouted more surprised than upset.

Chthon looked up at the king, "long time no see," he greeted Odin. He looked over at the Star Guard with the Allfather and touched the Tesseract with his free hand. Because of a lack of body his hand went into the Tesseract and he scooped out a handful of energy. He threw it at the assembled Æsir. Midway there it exploded into a shockwave.

Loki watched as it killed the Æsir there, the concussion snapping everyone's bones. Only Odin remained standing from Gungnir's protection. The shock of it still drove him to one knee, his ribs bruised. Now _that_ was power.

"Give it," Chthon ordered Loki, tugging on the Infinity Stone.

"NO!" Loki shouted back, pulling the stone closer to him. He had a good grip on it.

"Little brat!" Chthon snarled, tugging again.

"I'm a Prince you idiot," Loki spat, "let go!" The Tesseract slipped from his fingers, as they tugged, thrown accidently.

Desperately Chthon shoved Loki back and tried to grab the Stone but missed. The Tesseract gained a blue aura, its power active as it disappeared over the waterfall and into the Void. Without the Tesseract's energy countering the Barriers that surrounded Asgard, Chthon was forced off the Realm and back to Chitauri Space, swearing fiercely.

Loki pushed himself into a sitting position, head ringing. His own magic wasn't very happy at the Stone's takeover. He looked up at Odin. "Who the Fel was that?"

Odin could only gaze at Loki in shock. He couldn't believe that Chthon would dare show himself let alone use the Tesseract as a loophole to get past the Barriers. Then he realized that it was best no one knew he had been here. The last thing he wanted was his contact with the Chitauri to become known.

Gungnir glowed and Loki looked from it to Odin curiously. "Father? Is something wrong?"

The sleep spell activated and Loki passed out.

* * *

**Oh! If you are reading this read "_I Promise_". Its another of my stories that kicks off a series that takes place after Avengers. I just completed that and will post _Shadows of the Past_ next. I am planning on S_hadows of the Past_ to be better then this.**

**If you do not know, Chthon is the Elder God of Death. He is as guessed an ally of the Chitauri and Thanos. The Chituari plucking Loki from the Void at the end of the first Thor movie was no fluke. Even at this age, Chthon was intrigued with the mortal child that could tame an Infinity Stone. More on that and Odin's "connection" coming up at later publications.**


	10. Alternate Ending

"So Nira killed all of the Star Guard with father?" Thor pestered, sitting on Loki's bed.

Loki took a slow sip of cider, making Thor wait. "Yes, after I killed the Vanir with her. I might have picked up the Tesseract but she was able to throw some of its energy at the guards. Gungnir protected father but not the others."

"How did the Tesseract end up going off the Edge to the Void?" Fandral asked, standing a bit behind Thor. He was impressed. Loki had actually managed to control the Tesseract – _an Infinity Stone_.

"Nira and I got into a tug-of-war over it," Loki shrugged. "My grip slipped and it just went flying. I don't really remember that too well," his whole memory of that event was blurred. "During that time, a stray bolt hit the seal that Odin put over Nira's portal so after the Tesseract went flying, she escaped."

"But the portal didn't stay stable," Amora prodded from the other side of Loki's bed.

"No," Loki looked down. This part he remembered well. "I saw her image shatter as the portal did."

"At least she won't be back," Lorelei smiled from Amora's side.

Thor shook his head and smiled. "My brother is a warrior, he tamed the Tesseract!" The pride in his voice warmed Loki.

"Not without injury," Sif muttered.

The children were in the Healer's Ward, where Loki was confined to bed for the time being. Thor was the only one sitting on Loki's bed, everyone else was ranged around, listening to Loki. Sif was the furthest away.

Loki held up his hands, bandaged all the way up to his elbows with major burns, the palms burned to the bone in most places. During his tug-of-war with Nira, she had clawed his left forearm and there were extra bandages there, a little red. It had taken forever to get them to stop bleeding, an oddity since they were only scratches. His head was still spinning as well, the Tesseract's magic making his eyes look blue, and was wreaking havoc with his magic. Until the Stone's energy was gone, he was spell less.

"_And_ you lost the Tesseract," Sif continued.

"No one asked you to come pester him Sif," Lorelei snapped at her.

Honestly, Fandral thought, those two are going to try and kill each other someday.

"Next time Sif, I'll be sure to just give it to Nira," Loki promised sincerely, hand over his heart.

That got some snickers from the surrounding children and Sif stalked off, making the Æsir boy walking into the Ward step aside. The red-haired boy, Thor's age if a little plump, stepped into the doorframe to avoid Sif. He entered the Healer's Ward cautiously, holding his arm. He looked at the assembled group with some surprise.

"Hello," Thor greeted. He'd seen the boy around but had never really met him. "Who are you?"

The boy waved at him carefully with his good arm, wishing he hadn't wrenched his shoulder so badly. "Volstagg," he introduced, looking from Thor to Loki. "You're the Princes."

Thor nodded and waved when Hogun walked in behind him. The new Vanir visitor had been sick this past week and he still looked a little pale.

"You missed all the excitement," Fandral grinned at him.

Hogun shrugged, he'd hear about it sooner or later.

The children had become so entranced, first by the story, then their old friend Hogun showing up, and the new one Volstagg, that they had forgotten that Odin was there as well. He was being treated for some minor burns and cracked bones. Odin relaxed. His alteration of Loki's memories had worked. Now, as far as anyone knew, Chthon did not exist.

* * *

**okay, that was shorter then i thought it would be. i'll give you guys the next one to. **

**Here's something interesting: if Odin hadn't changed Loki's memories then Loki would still remember Chthon. When he fell off the Bifrost and the Chitauri plucked him out of the Void he would have remembered them and not been so eager to work together with them. Its possible that it could change the entire Avengers timeline.**

**I am not hating on Odin. I just need a bad guy and he's there. Loki didn't have a good childhood. He was always desperate to prove to Odin he was worthy to be his son. That translates over to the _Thor_ movie when he tries to wipe out the Jotunn race. He is so desperate to believe, to make Odin believe that he is a worthy son that it gets out of control. That stems from this.**


	11. Blade Work

The Guards laughed and tipped back another mug of ale as the dice clattered across the table. Their full attention was on the dice game of theirs and it was too easy for a small black haired boy to slip across the doorway and continue his walk to the armory.

For too long now, Loki had gone around unarmed. The Asgardians were a warrior race; all of their kind wore steel, all but Loki. Not anymore. He had his magic now but as Nira had so perfectly proved, he needed steel. Or Vibranium since steel was so fragile to Asgardians.

Technically, this was stealing and Heimdall could be spying on him and telling Odin even now. Loki wasn't worried though. Heimdall might be able to see everything but he could only look in one place at a time. With all nine of the realms to look at Loki thought it unlikely that Heimdall would be looking in this small armory right now.

The doors to the armory were locked. Loki crouched down and used a spell to unlock things. It worked. Smiling, he opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him. He turned to look at the spoils.

There wasn't much but Loki had purposely picked a smaller armory knowing it would be easier to break into. No shields or armor to speak and only two bows, their quivers hung up beside them. He walked by that. Further along were swords in their sheaths but he only looked at them for a moment.

His prizes were lying on a table as if tossed there and forgotten – daggers. They didn't look very dangerous, most were no longer than a foot, their hilts plain silver. Nira had proven just how lethal they were and if she could use them then so could Loki.

He picked up one and unclicked it from its sheathe. It was a straight blade about nine inches long with no designs to speak of at all.

The other blade that Loki claimed was obviously a throwing blade, its sheathe was made so you could wear it on your arm and hide it under your sleeve. They would do for a start. He put both in his small knapsack and snuck back out.

The Guards were still going at their game and Loki made one more stop before he left. The inventory records were sitting on a shelf and with a little spell, Loki was able to change a few figures so no one would notice the missing blades.

* * *

It was awkward holding the throwing blade, Loki would admit. He knew that in order to throw it you needed to have the tip of the blade between your fingers but every time he tried that his fingers got cut when he threw it. "I have got to be missing something," he grumbled as the bleeding stopped again and walked over to pull the blade out of the door.

He tapped the blade on his thigh, thinking back to the books he had read about throwing blades. No useful facts surfaced. "Wonderful," he rolled his eyes and walked over to throw it again. The only thing to do was practice and hope he figured it out sooner or later.

Just as he raised the blade above his head, someone knocked on his door. He lowered his blade and sent out a senseline. It was Frigga. "Come in mother," he called.

Frigga carefully poked her head inside. "What are you doing in here? I told you not to use your magic yet."

Loki hid the blade behind his back, glad that the other one was still in his knapsack out of sight.

"Let me see your hands," Frigga sighed as she walked inside, noticing Loki's guilty look.

Now what was Loki going to do? He was holding his blade. Well, he decided, mother is helping me with my magic maybe she can help me with this. She used to be a member of the Valkyrie's before they were disbanded and for a squad of all girls they racked up a lot kills. Slowly, he held out his hands. The bandages had been removed from his arms but they were still around his palms and wrists.

Frigga eyed the dagger. "Where did you get that?"

Loki didn't answer. "Um, I uh, I borrowed it?"

"Borrowed it from where?" Frigga asked.

"One of the armory's?" Loki kept talking before Frigga could. "I changed the inventory records so the Guards wouldn't get in trouble if someone noticed them missing. I can't practice my magic now anyway so I thought I could work with it. Can you help me? I cut my fingers every time I throw it."

Frigga gazed at him. She had seen this coming. It was because of Nira. It was good, she supposed. Loki wasn't made for a sword but daggers would suit him fine and now that he was showing interest, real interest, in weapon work Odin might go a little easier on him. Now where were the other blades? This was just a throwing blade and Loki had said 'them.'

"All right," Frigga nodded. "But only if you focus solely on the blades and don't use any magic until it recovers from the Tesseract. Deal?"

"Deal," Loki smiled.

"Go into stance as if you are going to throw it," Frigga ordered.

Loki did so, holding the blade a little above and behind his head, fingers curling around the blade's tip.

"Stop," Frigga called. "A beginner's mistake, look at your fingers."

Loki moved the blade into his line of sight and did so. "What of it?"

"Your fingers are curled around the blade. I know it will feel like you have a better grip but you are going to get cut every time." Frigga moved his fingers so that they were pinching the blade.

"I feel like it's going to fall," Loki told her.

"Good," Frigga nodded. "Now try." She stepped aside so Loki had a clear shot.

He hesitated then threw it. It thonked into his door satisfyingly. Even better, Loki's fingers weren't cut. He smiled. "Thank you mother."

"Glad I could help," Frigga smiled. She had an idea but was unsure if Loki would do it or not. "You could talk to one of the Star Guard. They may not use daggers but they know how to. It is required training that they do."

His mother's suggestion was sensible but… "They'll tell father."

Oh, of course he didn't want Odin hearing of this. It wasn't a sword. "I know one that won't," Frigga smiled. "THe one that's teaching Thor, Captain Eirill."

Loki gulped. The one who called him a servant's child…

* * *

Captain Eirill Bófison glared at the drunken guard as they left. He massaged a temple and sighed. Sometimes he really hated being a Captain but he did have one thing to look forward to, his lessons with Prince Thor. Thor was quite lovable and would no doubt make a fine warrior when he grew up.

That of course made him think about the other prince, Loki. Loki had not yet gotten close enough for Eirill to apologize. It had been embarrassing mistaking the prince for a servant's child. He's too busy fighting off Maraduers, taming Infinity Gems, and saving Asgard likely. Loki wasn't a bad child either.

One thing Eirill had noticed was that Odin hadn't jumped in and corrected his error of Loki's identity. If Thor had not been there he might never have been corrected. He had noticed that Odin seemed to favor Thor but something about the _way_ he did it seemed wrong to Eirill.

Seeing Loki in the courtyard aroused him from his gloom with surprise. Even more surprising, Loki didn't disappear as soon as he saw Eirill. Loki actually walked toward him. Where Thor's eyes were warm and rich with emotion if naïve, where Loki's eyes were colder and sharp with logical intelligence.

"My Prince," Eirill greeted him as soon as he was close enough, adding a salute and slight bow.

Loki looked amused for a moment. "Captain, may I ask a favor for you?"

"Of course," Eirill said. "I wish to apologize for before…"

Loki shook his head, quieting him. "You are not the first to call me a servant." But you may be the last, he thought, looking at his bandaged hands and thinking about everything he had done this past week. I hope you're the last. " "Do you know much about dagger work?"

Eirill was not expecting that question. "Y-yes, tis required for all Academy students. I was never the best but I learned all of the techniques."

Loki nodded and looked at his boots. He flicked his hand and caught the blade that fell from the sleeve. "Mother showed me how to throw it correctly but I need a real mentor."

Eirill leaned back in surprise. "Why me?"

"Mother suggested you," Loki shrugged. "You have been teaching Thor to fight of late. But you can't tell anyone, especially father. He'll be upset."

"Up-upset? Why would he be upset that you are learning blade work?" Eirill frowned.

"It is not a sword," Loki murmured. "Father wants a sword wielding warrior general, one in armor and daylight. That's Thor's style. You learn a lot more when you watch from the shadows and strike from them."

Eirill thought that Loki was being a little harsh on Odin but then he remembered how Odin had not bothered to correct his error of the Prince's identity. "Very well."

* * *

**Ta-Da! Loki is using daggers and magic, sound a little like the grown-up Loki you know yet?**

**Heh, this one is short to. But two short ones equal a long one! ****One of my friends talked me around into writing something other then Marvel because she's not a marvel fan. ****:(**

**I've written one in Sword Art Online and am working on a How To Train Your Dragon story. I think i might start posting the dragon one. Is anyone interested in that stuff?**


	12. Intrigued

The pocket dimension of the Chitauri Legion was little more then a dead asteroid field and a fleet of starships. There was a blue-star sun in the distance and a few dead planets beyond the asteroid field.

We claim to be one of the superpowers of the galaxy and yet our "home" is dead. Chthon shook his head as he kicked the limp figure lying on an asteroid. The teenager lying on the ground groaned and moved, pushing herself up. Nira saw his boots in front of her and looked up further. "Hello Kárr," she greeted.

He kicked her again, bruising her cheek. Kárr was just one of Chthon's many aliases. Nira was one of the only Marauders who knew that "Kárr" was no Vanir. Thanos may not like Chthon's pet projects, such as creating and expanding the Marauders, but if it destabilized the Realms he wouldn't interfere. "You failed in your mission."

Nira pushed herself into a sitting position, touching her sore cheek with her tongue.

"You were supposed to bring me the Tesseract." Chthon growled. "You bring me the Infinity Stone and I make you queen and ensure that the Asgardians are wiped out with your family."

Nira said nothing. In a case like this, silence was her best defense.

"You should never have taken a hostage." He spat.

"How was I to know that the Æsir would be able to tame the Tesseract," she demanded, temper flaring. "Only Elder Gods like you can handle them but he did."

Chthon struck her again, knocking her to the ground.

Nira knew better than to get up. Her daggers would do no good against an enemy that could make himself as hard to hit as a ghost. Add to that the fact that he also happened to be the Elder God of death and you got a very unfair fight.

"Be pleased I pulled you from the collapsing portal," Chthon hissed. "I shall not do so again."

Nira waited until he stepped away before standing, trying to hide her fear. Not even she would dare try him. Maybe she should have just tried doing things solo instead of turning to him, too late now.

Chthon waved a hand and teleported her back to Vanaheim. He turned back to look at the dead space of the Chitauri dimension.

"Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard," He hummed the boy's false name. "Very bold move Odin, raising Laufey's son as your own." And a very bold Jötunn at that, he reflected remembering _Loki_ ordering _him_ to let the Tesseract go. Now no one had it.

He had been scanning the Void of space around Asgard but the Tesseract had yet to sow itself. It was the Infinity Stone of Space and its powers had been active when it went over the Edge. Likely it had teleported itself to who knows where. Well, it had been in the star cluster known as the Nine Realms when it activated so it was probably still there, but what world was it on? Had it even landed on one of the nine planets full of life or some of the dozens of empty ones?

"Chthon," a deep voice, sharp with superiority, made itself heard.

"Thanos," Chthon greeted without turning. "I thought you would be in Sanctuary."

"You left the dimension," Thanos explained simply. He would take power and iron strength over mind games any day and was being as direct as ever.

"A young mage activated the Tesseract," Chthon gauged Thanos's reactions, deciding not to mention Nira's failure. Only those native to the Nine Realms Star Cluster had steady access to magic and only they ever earned the title mage.

"What realm?" Thanos demanded.

_You do not speak to an Elder God like that mortal boy_, Chthon thought to himself. Oh well, he'd teach Thanos his manners sooner or later.

"Asgard," he growled, guessing correctly.

"Odin is raising the son of Laufey as his own."

"The son of Laufey…" Thanos frowned. "Then his mother is?"

Chthon dipped his head marginally in a nod.

Thanos cursed.

"I think you should take him," Chthon said quietly, not bothering to shout over Thanos.

Thanos shut up. "Claim him!? Claim that K'tor's son as a general of the Chitauri! No, one Jotunn on my flagship was bad enough i will not have her son tearing my fleet apart to."

"He is a young boy, a novice mage, who taught himself how to use the Tesseract – an Infinity Stone – mid battle with no training." Chthon reasoned simply. The boy was amazing, a little rebellious, but that could be broken from him after a few months in the Chitauri's care.

"He is on Asgard," Thanos shook his head, "out of reach thanks to those Barriers. And thanks to Loki's mother strengthening them, no Chitauri can set foot there."

Chthon didn't bother saying that he had gotten there. He had been using the raw power of the Tesseract to bypass the Barriers and even that hadn't worked so well. The only way to take them out was from the inside and you couldn't get inside to break them. An infinite loop. "Normally he would be out of my reach, but he handled the Tesseract, and let it contaminate his magic deeply. Physically, I cannot reach him, but mentally…"

Thanos glanced at him but kept quiet for once, allowing Chthon to speak.

"While he is awake, even his basic consciousness will thwart me." Chthon though out loud now. "A mind in sleep however is vulnerable to certain, persuasion. He does not know that he is Jötunn. Odin is doing a wonderful job of destabilizing him already. When he learns, he will break. That may be quite some time but he will get stronger, until then," Chthon shrugged. "I can alter the way he thinks as he sleeps."

Thanos glanced at Chthon. His "ally" had many pet projects. One more would not hurt. "Do what you wish."

* * *

**Okay, i know i didn't do Thanos or Chthon like Marvel says but i like the give and take between the two of them.**

**Nira is alive to. She won't show up for a while yet but she's not gone for good.**

**Odin is not the only Asgardian to have had contact with the Chitauri. Both of Loki's parents did but as you think, his mother is not on the best terms with the Chitauri. That doesn't mean that the Chitauri aren't interested in him.**


	13. Warning

Loki had his nose in a book – again. No matter how distracted he seemed he still heard footsteps approaching the library. They were too light to be Thor's or any boys. Slowly, he looked up. It was Sif. He would rather it was Sigyn personally. Sigyn might be a girl but she was a mage and a rather fun one to be around.

Sif though it was. She had her arms on her hips. "So, the mighty hero is back to reading through books, quite a scholar."

Loki's hands tightened imperceptibly on the book. Then he sighed. "Reading has its uses Sif." He closed the book and slid it over to her. "This one for instance is one of the handfuls I've found that mention Infinity Stones. There are two paragraphs about the Tesseract that let me use it to defeat Nira."

Sif narrowed her brown eyes and tossed her head, sending her golden hair shimmering around her shoulders. "Yes and that was so high and mighty of you, throwing the Tesseract into the Void where anyone can pick it up. Just like letting all of those guard die."

Loki shrugged. "Nira knew more than I did, but I got it out of her hands. That is more than anyone else could do."

"Very bold aren't you for a foolish brat?"

Loki was just going to ignore it and sneak off but he changed his mind. All right Sif, you want a reaction, i think i'll give you one. "Yes," Loki answered matter of factly.

Sif stepped back, not expecting that reply. He's actually going to stand up against me? I'm amazed he's even got the courage to do that. "You are a brat aren't you?" She spat, stepping forward. "Brat, second son, weakling," she growled. "You look nothing like Thor or Odin or Frigga. How is it to know that you are his son, and not just some orphan Odin took in?"

Loki flinched back, knowing it was a mistake.

Sif saw the opening and struck. "How do you know you're not just a bastard child? Not even of Odin's blood."

Loki stopped in shock. She hadn't just called him that. No, she had. He felt calm, an icy calm that cleared his head.

Sif gulped. Something in Loki's eyes snapped.

Loki teleported, despite his magic still being so tainted from the Infinity Stone, and came to stand an inch from Sif. Sif eked and stepped back.

Loki stepped forward and she stepped back, trembling. Loki's eyes were deadly still without the faintest trace of emotion or fear or anything. All of Loki's pent up anger from the centuries of Sif's taunting had just snapped. For the first time in a very long time she felt fear.

Loki backed her up until she hit a bookcase and could go no more. She had almost six inches on Loki but still, her heartbeat increased. He flicked his sleeve and a slim dagger fell to his hand. It flickered in the light and he pressed it against her throat almost nonchalantly.

Loki was armed. _Loki was armed! _He had never carried a weapon before, Sif thought erratically. He's not a warrior, he shouldn't be armed.

Then Loki hesitated. "Not yet," he smiled. "Not now, that'd be too easy on you. I'll think of something better. Remember Sif, paybacks are Fel." He promised. The blade slipped back into his sleeve and he stepped back, turned on his heel, and strode from the library, book in hand.

As soon as he was gone, Sif crumbled to his knees, trembling. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the bookcase.

* * *

**Sorry, its Tuesday again. This week _is_ the week after Spring Break. If you just got back from Spring Break like i did, then don't tell my your inner clock isn't a little messed up. I thought today was Thursday. **

**Sif really had that coming. In the movies Loki and Sif don't exactly get along and i'm just building on it so don't hate that those two hate each other. It's accurate. **


	14. The First Stray

**Chapter 14: The First Stray**

Loki walked sharply, not bothering to look where he was going. His magic nearly crackled around him in anger, and any who came close to him quickly adverted their course. Somehow, he ended up back at Lookout.

The signs of battle had not yet faded and Loki stepped around the burn marks. He walked over and sat on the stones beneath the oak tree. They were warm and surprising comfortable, all of their sharp edges worn away from when the rivers still ran over them.

He set the book to one side and shrugged the knapsack off his shoulder. Hands trembling in anger, he picked up his book and opened it to a random page. His eyes skimmed the page for a second before they started reading. The book was about powerful artifacts and he had turned to a page about the Infinity Gauntlet.

_"The Infinity Gauntlet was designed to hold the six of 'soul gems', better known as the Infinity Gems or Infinity Stones. When used in combination with the gauntlet their already impressive powers make the wearer both omnipotent and immortal."_

The leaves rustled above him despite the lack of wind. Slowly, Loki looked up. Something with green eyes was peering at him from a break in the leaves. He drew the throwing blade.

The creature flicked out a red forked tongue and slithered down an inch. It was a snake with black scales.

Very slowly, Loki set his book aside and stood, blade behind his back, never letting his eyes stray.

The snake slid down another inch and puffed out a cobra hood, watching him curiously with cloudy cat eyes.

Did-did it live here? How could a predator live in an area with no prey, living in only one tree on the edge of nowhere? It dropped down another foot and lost its grip on the limb, unceremoniously tumbling to the ground with a pained click.

It didn't move.

Loki walked forward slowly, keeping his blade in front of him. It was injured. Blue mottled the black scales like burn marks. Blue… It must have been caught in the crossfire during the fight over the Tesseract. He made a slight click noise and the snake turned one eye toward him. It tried to lift itself off the ground vainly.

Thor was always considered the soft brother but Loki hated seeing animals suffering. He set the dagger back in his sleeve and held his hands in front of him walking to stand beside it. It watched him as he stepped closer and knelt by its side. When he got too near, it raised its head and puffed out its hood, bared its teeth at him with a hiss before slumping to the ground again.

That surprised Loki. It had a cobra hood and small teeth curved backward but no fangs. A constrictor with a cobra hood, that was weird… Loki was something of an expert on snakes and he liked them. The silky smooth, almost rippled feel that came from stroking their scales was unique. Despite what most people thought, snakes struck as a last resort and the venomous ones preferred dry bites to wasting some of their precious venom on something they weren't going to eat.

"Stop it," Loki scolded the snake. He unwound the bandages around one of his palms and held it out. Where most burns were red or black, his had an unnatural blue tint to them. The snake apprised him. "See I got the same burns you do." Loki carefully inched his injured hand forward again, "just let me help, you got injured because I used the Tesseract…"

It snapped its jaws at him with a loud clack like bone on bone. Loki hesitated and moved his hand forward again, ignoring the warning. It wasn't venomous so he should be all right…

Crack!

"Yow!" Loki jerked his sore hand back. He looked at it. The back of his hand was red and the shape was just like the snake's tail… He glared at it.

It held its tail above its head at the ready like it was a whip.

"I am trying to help!" Loki snapped. "Fine," he growled, "I'll leave you here, even if I know how to fix your burns." He stood, setting his hand on the rocks. Ice crept from his fingers and spikes arouse around his hand. Rats, he jerked his hand back. "Not again…"

The serpent watched the ice grow curiously and turned it head to apprise the prince again.

Loki glared at the hand. His ice magic had always been minor, sleeping really, but now it was active. It made sense; his normal magic was still burned and drained from the Tesseract so all that was left was his ice.

The snake flicking its tongue at the ice and then tilted its head up to him. Carefully, Loki held out a hand and the snake moved forward so it was resting its head in his palm. Loki smiled and scratched it between its eyes. "Never seen an Æsir with ice magic have you?" Loki asked.

No, it hadn't seen an Æsir with Jötunn magic.

Loki was able to pick it up. That was good, but now what do I do with it? Unsure what else to do, he moved his dagger in the knapsack to a different pocket and slid the snake into his bag. He'd hand carry his book rather than risk it squishing the snake.

* * *

"Where is it?" Loki growled as he stood on his tiptoes to look at one of his shelves. He stalked over to his desk and pulled out one of its drawers, ruffling through it. Fey had made a special cream that he could put on his burned hands to help them heal faster and it should help the snake… but he had to find it first.

He shoved one drawer closed and opened another. "Got ya," he picked up the small jar and unscrewed the lid to reveal the orange cream inside. The snake sniffed it warily as Loki set it next to it and dipped his fingers in. It moved its head back but at Loki's glare held still and let the prince apply the cream to its wounds. Loki knew it would sting and wasn't surprised when the snake turned its head and bit his hand.

It bit harder as Loki added the cream to more wounds, drawing blood but Loki didn't flinch until he was finished.

"You can let go of my hand," Loki told him. The snake looked up and then shyly released Loki's hand. "Thank you." He applied the balm to his palms, wincing, and then replaced it in his desk. He sat next to the snake again, noticing something. "How long have you had those?" he asked. On either side of the snakes eyes were three clear crystals. They were shaped like a six sided prismatic crystal with a six sided pyramidal tip. The crystal in the middle was slightly longer than the two on either side.

The serpent blinked, crystals glittering orange. He must have always had him, how come Loki hadn't noticed them before? Those were like ice crystals. Now Loki was really confused. He had never seen any Asgardian creature with crystals like that. "What kind of snake are you?"

* * *

**okay, i know the last two were short but it didn't feel right naming the chapter with Sif in it 'The First Stray' so I split it. Comments on Loki's new friend? **

**Look how obvious it is he's Jotunn! Even the snake knows it! But I have to follow the Marvel timeline (somewhat).**


	15. What is Courage?

Thor had injured himself more times than he could count. He had gotten into fights before to, sometimes from training with Jaro or Hogun or Fandral or that new boy Volstagg and sometimes a real fight with fists flying. Blood was not an uncommon sight. Death was not an unknown quality to Thor either; he had seen death by natural causes and by accident.

Nira had killed a squad of cadets and their bodies had been moved and covered up. There were eight bodies, boys only a century or so older then Thor. They were still in the Academy training to be Star Guard. When Thor saw bodies they were still in one piece and whatever injuries they had were usually not seen.

Thor knelt down and picked up one of the clocks that had been draped over a nearby body, pulling it back so he could see. His eyesight swarmed red. He had never seen the body of someone that had been murdered before. The cloth slipped from his fingers and fell, leaving the body uncovered.

The body had been placed so the separate pieces were aligned. A few locks of his blonde hair, matted red, hide one side of the face. This boy's eyes were closed but his features displayed none of the peaceful sleep like qualities he was used to seeing on bodies. They were trapped in a grimace, cringing away from a blow that had likely severed the head. He could smell the blood and the scent of a body decomposing slightly.

Is this what war looks like? Thor bit his tongue to keep his bile down and stepped backwards, unable to look away from the body. Is this what war is? Tearing someone apart? Is that how you fight?

His heartbeat was hyper accelerated, pounding in his ears. Someone tapped his shoulder and Thor whirled around, almost shrieking in surprise. He stumbled back and the offender grabbed the front of the tunic before he could fall. "C-Captain," Thor stuttered.

Captain Eirill looked at Thor, "What are you doing here, my prince?" He looked past Thor to where one of the bodies lied uncovered.

"I-I I've never seen a real battle before," Thor gulped, "o-or the-the…"

Eirill tugged Thor forward so the boy was standing upright and then stepped past him to recover the exposed body. Thor was still trying to form a coherent sentence and Eirill gently guided the shocked child away from the scented air and out of sight of the bodies.

Finally, Thor took a breath. "Nira did all of that, didn't she?"

Eirill nodded. "Those are the cadets that she killed. There are others, adults, as well."

"I have naught seen true battle," Thor whispered. "There are training matches and brawls and vendettas but I've never seen battle. That doesn't look like the stories of battles make it sound."

"Real war is a very messy thing Thor," Eirill sighed. "Don't be worried, if you are comfortable with the sight of blood and death on that scale then you are no better than Nira. Your disgust proves you care about life."

"Loki defeated her all by himself," Thor whispered. He tightened a hand to a fist. "How many did she kill?"

"My prince-"

"How many?" Thor asked again, head lowered, his blonde bangs hiding his eyes.

"Not including those cadets, 13 others," Eirill whispered.

Thor gulped, "twenty-one kills…" and Loki still had the courage to fight her. He saw her kill 13 others firsthand and he didn't squirm away like I did and I just saw one body.

"My prince, are you alright?" Eirill asked quietly.

Thor shook his head sharply, "L-Loki's so strong."

"You are strong as well," Eirill soothed.

"Yes," Thor muttered, "very strong." So strong I can't even take a little blood from the bodies where Loki defeated the one that killed them. He nodded a quick dismissal to Eirill and walked away.

* * *

Thor sighed as he walked, scuffing his feet. What kind of a prince am I if I get ill at the sight of blood? How can I be a prince, let alone a king? Loki took her down and he's my junior with almost no battle training and no weapons and he still killed her.

Thor stopped walking. Ahead of him Jaro walked around the corner, tapping his hand on the sword hilt by his side. "My prince," Jaro greeted respectfully. "Did you hear what Loki has recently done?"

Thor felt a slight smile, "what did he do now?"

Jaro's eyes were level and cold, "he tried to kill Sif."

"What?!" Thor straightened, "Loki?" His thoughts skewed back to seeing the tattered cadet's body. Nira's a killer not Loki! Jaro must be mistaken.

"The story she has told me is troubling my prince," Jaro said smoothly. "I fear Loki may not have survived his battle without consequences if Nira has taught him how to kill. Worse than a killer a coward to pick on a maiden."

Around the corner, a figure lowered his eyes and let his black hair cover his face. Jaro's words stung but Loki supposed he should not be so surprised. Of course Sif would tell him about how I threatened her. I should have stayed in my room instead of circling back around to get a book on Slítas. If I was in my room out of the way then I wouldn't be overhearing this.

"My brother is no killer," Thor growled, taking a step forward.

Loki raised his head slowly.

"He is a great warrior," Thor shook her head. "He is smaller than most and not as strong or as flashy as me but he is Loki and he is my brother. His courage is – different then what would think courage is but it is far greater than my own and I envy him. I want to be king but if I cannot then I take comfort in the knowledge that Loki will be. He would make a fine king."

Loki blinked in surprise. Thor really thinks that of me?

"You cannot mean that," Jaro exclaimed, "he held a blade to Sif's throat and did not care."

"I am a terrible liar," Thor promised, "and I will not have you speak ill of my brother in my presence." He took a threatening step forward, hand going to his sword on his waist.

Jaro's hand went to his own blade but then he lowered his hand. He would get in too much trouble for fighting a prince with intent to harm. "Just as I thought," Jaro sighed as he apprised Thor. "A king must be stronger and willing to do whatever is needed but you are soft and Loki is weak."

Is that how Jaro thinks of me? Soft? "Loyalty is not a weakness Jaro. Be gone," Thor waved a hand in dismissal.

"Pulling rank are you?" Jaro challenged. His soft, beautiful features had hardened and were twisted by a sneer.

Thor was caught off guard by his sudden vindictiveness. He remembered what Loki had told him about Jaro before. Jaro is a good sparring partner but that does not mean he is a good friend. "Yes, I am. Loki is my brother and if you think so little of us then you are not my friend so _be gone_."

Jaro gave a mockery of a bow, turned on his heel, and stalked past Thor. As he walked past Thor he saw a shadow leaning against the wall. Loki raised his eyes now and met them defiantly with Jaro's own. This was the second time they had done this and far from the last.

What is Jaro looking at? Thor walked after the boy after he had left and Loki's ears perked at the noise.

Thor peered around the corner but didn't see anything. That was weird. I wish Loki could have been there to hear that. Maybe then he wouldn't act like such a shy little servant and start believing he is a prince. Well, I might as well go find him and have him tell me about his fight with Nira again. That will calm my nerves. Loki always calmed his nerves. It's because I know that no matter what happens my little brother will never hurt me, he'll always stand by my side just like I'll protect him.

He turned and walked away. Maybe he could find Fandral or Hogun or maybe even that new boy Volstagg. Surely they'd be better mannered then Jaro.

Before his footsteps faded, air distorted and Loki materialized from his invisibility charm. He had to grab the edge of the wall to keep from collapsing from the sudden strain. That spell hurt his stamina but he had to admit it had its uses. It was definitely one to practice.

I don't get what Thor meant though, I'm not courageous, I was terrified the whole time Nira had me hostage. That is not courage; that is me being afraid.

Isn't it?

* * *

**TA DA! This is where the title comes from! **

**Neither prince is perfect, and right now blood is Thor's weakness. Seeing those bodies puts him off fighting in general. Doesn't fit with the Thor you know does it? Finally, Thor realizes that Jaro isn't a good friend. Poor Loki still thinks he's a mess to. Oh, the joys of being a child on Asgard.**


	16. Courage

Loki lay on his stomach on the bed, head resting on his hands, feet kicking in the air idly as he read. He had managed to get to the library after Thor's confrontation and had found a book about Slítas in the last place he expected – the section on Jötunnheim. It had been an accident really; the book had been tugged down when he had been reaching for another one and had almost landed on his head.

His snake was a drifter from Jötunnheim called a Whipsnapper Cobra. Although the only stable way to travel between realms was the Bifrost, occasionally two realms orbited close enough that a temporary portal opened. During the time that they were open plants and animals could stray from one realm to the other. They were called drifters.

The crystals by his eyes were apparently a trait exclusive to Jötunnheim creatures. How it had ended up on Asgard was still a mystery to Loki. Well, I get why it likes me, my ice magic is probably the closest thing that he has to Jötunnheim.

"I suppose the real question is how I'm going to get you back home," Loki glanced over at his desk where the snake was lounging.

It opened one of its eyes, looked at him, and then closed the eye again.

"It won't be easy with the treaty between Jötunnheim and Asgard banning contact but I can't just leave you here," Loki sighed. "This isn't your home after all. I wonder who I'd get in more trouble with if they found me, Laufey or Odin." He smiled, "I'm not sure which one I'm more scared of."

The snake gave him a look best described as amused.

Loki turned the page of the book he had found. Most of the runes were Asgardian but some were in the Jötunn script and those he couldn't make sense of. Maybe I should teach myself Jötunn, at least how to read the script.

One of Asgard's Healers in training was a girl named Sigyn. She had been on Alfheim of late but should be returning home soon. Sig can read Jötunn I think, maybe I can talk her into teaching me. Thinking of Sigyn made him smile.

He brushed the thoughts of his friend aside and focused on his snake. "You _are_ one weird snake."

The cobra turned its head away from Loki and tucked it under a loop of his body much like a bird would tuck its beak under its wing.

"There's that," Loki pointed out. "But you eat by tearing things up and eating strips like a crocodile so you can scavenge. You're omnivorous to and like to eat fruit. You don't like vegetables and I don't blame you for that one, and even eat some leaves. Hmm, those crystals by your eyes change color with depending on your mood. Wow, that's a weird one."

Loki took a bite out of a strawberry in the bowl beside him, glad he had some in his room. He loved strawberries. "You are the only snake I have heard of that can be either warm-blooded or cold-blooded depending on which would be better. A warm-blooded reptile," he shook his head. "Well, it also says that you can understand speech, rare for an animal."

The cobra puffed slightly at the implied insult.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Loki smiled. "Did you wander through a portal?"

The snake bobbed his head in what Loki was sure was a nod.

"Do you want me to try and get you back home?" Loki asked finally.

The cobra looked at him in an expression that Loki was sure was a no and shook its tail, accidently knocking a pair of scissors off Loki's desk with it. Loki set his book aside so he could stand and get the scissors when someone knocked on his door. His senseline warned him it was Odin but his father opened the door before Loki could tell him to hold on a moment.

"Loki, why are you in your room?" Odin asked.

Loki held up his sore hands. "Fey told me to take it easy until I get these unbandaged. They should be healed by tomorrow."

Odin frowned, he always frowned. _Why can't you smile at me father? _

Odin looked over at the table and Loki braced to be shouted at but no shout came. His cobra had disappeared. Where did it go? Loki thought warily. The throwing blade was gone as well.

Odin was looking at his book when Loki glanced back at him. It was open to a page with Jötunn runes. Oh no, now he was in trouble.

"What is that?"

"A book?" Loki asked. He thought he had better elaborate. "Um, I saw a weird snake out in the forest. It's from Jötunnheim turns out. A drifter…"

Odin's glare deepened.

There was no way Loki could recover from mentioning Jötunnheim. He looked down. No wait, he told himself, I don't need to justify myself, what I just said is the truth. I am no coward and I am not scared of.

He looked back up and sat straighter. "As for my magic, I'll be able to start practicing tomorrow. Thor said he'd help me with my ice magic. Nira proved its lethality and since I'm using my normal magic I should learn how to use my ice as well."

Odin's wasn't used to Loki being sure enough of himself to look him in the eye and answer him. He had thought that after Nira holding him hostage that he would be even more timid... "No ice magic and no Jötunnheim." He took the book from Loki's bed.

For the first time ever, Loki refused to flinch under Odin's glare.

"Enough with that silly magic of yours." Odin continued. "It is a woman's art and not fit for a Prince. You should act your rank and focus on your swordwork instead of such foolishness."

"If I had more magic," Loki sharply replied. "I wouldn't have almost drowned and I would have been able to do more against Nira." He expects me to flinch, Loki realized, just like Sif. I stood up to Sif and I'm done with you _father_.

Odin read as much in Loki's eyes, steeled with a courage he had always lacked before. With a huff he left from Loki's room with the book.

Loki waited until Odin was gone before relaxing. He and Sif were all the same, just a bunch of big bullies that taunted those they saw as weak. Well, I'm not weak, not anymore and I'll learn just fine. Odin wants me to be a swordsman does he? Then I'll work with Eirill and fine tune my dagger work. He wants me to forget all this foolishness of magic, so I'll speak to mother and Freyja and learn. I told Nira that I do not need to prove myself to anyone. It's about time I started acting like it and stopped living in Thor's shadow... or... Odin's. If Odin does not approve of me then that is his loss.

No one else has ever tamed the Tesseract. I did. That's proof enough for me that despite whatever Odin thinks, I am not a waste. I am a Prince of Asgard.

A soft hissing noise drew Loki's attention from glaring at his door. It was the cobra. He had managed to drop from the desk to the chair under it to stay out of sight. In his jaws was Loki's throwing dagger. It held the bare blade carefully between its teeth and set it in Loki's hand when the Prince walked over.

"You hid my dagger?"

The snake looked at him levelly and Loki smiled, reaching over to scratch him between his eyes. He leaned into Loki's hand, purring almost, crystals a dark blue. "Thank you. You never answered me, do you want to go back to Jötunnheim?" he asked as he reached under his desk for those scissors that had been knocked off earlier.

The snake looked at him levelly and very clearly shook his head no.

"Well, then you need a name," Loki paused in his search and looked at the cobra. "How about Slítas?"

The snake tilted is head in curiosity then bobbed it in what Loki took to be a yes.

Smiling again, Loki ducked under the desk so he could see the scissors and held them up as he sat back, the light catching on them. Loki stopped. An idea formed.

"Can you pick up a pair of scissors Slítas?" Loki asked him, holding out his hand. In response the snake reached over and easily picked up the scissors from Loki's hand with its very strong jaws.

Perfect. He knew how to get Sif back. First, he'd have to get to the library and take one of the forbidden magic books with vengeance curses in it. He'd get back at Sif first, and then, then he'd see.

A trickster's knife like smile appeared briefly as he held the scissors in his hand.

**To Be Continued…**

**Nightmares**

_Ever since Loki used the Tesseract he has been having nightmares. Since Chthon cannot reach Loki directly, he conditions the child's mind as it sleeps. Oblivious to what it happening, Loki decides to get even with Sif by cutting off her hair. This is the real story of the famous myth._

* * *

**How's that for courage? What Loki feared more then anything was his father's disdain and now he's finally starting to realize that he doesn't need Odin's approval. Now, do you recognize this Loki a little more?**

**Yep, Loki's story continues and Sigyn appears in my next story. It gets even more interesting in the next story. And yes, guess what Loki's going to do with those scissors. **


End file.
